Final Fantasy VII: Beyond Apocalypse
by Tifa's Knight
Summary: Seperate "Volumes" are now using the new chapter system, so every volume is just contained in this one section. For those left hanging on a cliff at the end of Volume 3, VOLUME 4 IS NOW COMPLETE AND UP! Please R/R
1. Volume 1- The Perfect Warrior

FINAL FANTASY VII: BEYOND APOCALYPSE  
  
VOLUME 1- THE PERFECT WARRIOR  
  
  
PREFACE   
  
Throughout time and space and the history of the universe, there have been great legends, legends of incredible events that nothing else has ever come close to equalling. They are the top teir of legends, the ultimate stories, the tales of the most incredible events the universe has ever faced. They are the final level of legendary stories. The Final Fantasies.   
They are cronicled because of their value as stories, but also to remind us of things. To remind us to protect our earth, lest the abuse of its powers lead to the destruction of it, like in the first Final Fantasy. To remind us that hatred is the negative force, that only the light, the good, the caring, the opposite of hatred, can bring us happiness, like in the fourth Final Fantasy. And they remind us that self-sacrifice is the ultimate form of caring for others, like in the seventh Final Fantasy. These are only a few of the immortal lessons told to us through these incredible tales.   
But none of these stories are ever spoken of again... does everyone not wonder what became of the four Light Warriors, or what Cecil and Rosa's children were like, or how the Planet changed after almost having been struck by the ultimate Black Magic? All these questions, and infinite others, remain unanswered.   
Well, one story does live on, in this, the chronicles of what is in my opinion the greatest of the Final Fantasies. There is more to tell of this legend, and so, I give you the next chapter in this great saga, the saga of Final Fantasy VII.   
And it is called Beyond Apocalypse.   
  
  
INTRODUCTION   
  
The purpose of this introduction is to set the story on its path and provide the reader with some backround information, so I'll narrate for a bit.   
The residents of the Planet had always considered the important fulcrum in their world's timeline to be the year the Cetra died out- thus, that year was called 0 A.A., or After Ancients.   
But then, an event so great it seemed to overshadow the extinction of the "Ancients" occured: The Coming of Meteor, and thus, a new fulcrum came about, starting from 0 B.A., or 0 Beyond Apocalypse.   
Very few on the Planet fully understood what happened that day. The Meteor was destroyed. Holy was unleashed. The LifeStream fought for the planet. That was what was declared throughout the world to the public. But there was one thing that happened that day only a handful of people knew about. That day, the sacrifice of a woman saved the entire Planet from the ultimate destruction.   
Now, Midgar, the capital of the world, lay in ruin, and Shinra, the formerly powerful multi-continental Mako-monopolizing force, was weakened signifigantly. Midgar had always been the center of Shinra, and without Midgar, they had little left. However, the company was still alive. An evacuation of the city had taken place before Meteor's near-impact, and   
thus some of them had been saved. President Rufus, however, was killed in the attack of Diamond Weapon, and there were no heirs. A battle for control began.   
It didn't last long, though. One character emerged with enough power and leadership to re-assemble the tattered company and begin an attempt to rebuild what they once had. This character was Supreme General Keer Ashroth, a model military man and a powerful public speaker. He had enough support within the company to have most of his competitors killed, and by the time any of them bothered to surrender, he was essentially in charge of the company, which was officially handed over to him three months after the Meteor-Holy clash. He quickly organized an effort to rebuild Midgar.   
As Shinra began to revive itself, they went looking for resources and began to take over areas they expected would be of use in gaining resources for the reconstruction of Midgar. This was when they met with heavy resistance at Wu Tai. Commander Ashroth was not expecting to have to fight; Wu Tai had become little more than a tourist attraction recently, but somehow they were trying to resist Shinra. As situations tightened in the west, things were happening in the east, too- things far more important than any of the other affairs happening to the world at the time. Things that would begin to set in motion the greatest events in the history of the Planet. Perhaps even the universe. Things that would change the life of a young man yet again and bring to life his worst nightmares combined with his worst memories and fears. Things strange, unnatural, and yet, perhaps, for some reason, unavoidable...   
But what happened to the small group of fighters who had defeated Sephiroth and helped destroy the Meteor? They had gone off and hid somewhere to avoid the mass attention that would come their way, and were currently residing peacefully and blissfully on an obscure chocobo farm.   
To begin the story, let us take a look at some various excerpts from the diary of a key character in the next great chapter of Final Fantasy VII- one whose role in the story will not become great until far, far into it.   
  
Excerpt from the diary of Syfe Techro, lead engineer of the Midgar Reconstruction Project- August 12th, the year 0 B.A.   
  
We've finally started on the actual construction. Everything is going according to plan; I'm glad because High Commander Ashroth is personally overseeing this operation. And it's really not that fact that I mind; if he wants to be there in case something goes wrong, I understand that. I may not think it's necessary, but I understand it. It's how tightly they're watching us that's getting to me. They have these video cameras literally everywhere. It's like they think we're all going to rebel or something, or they expect us to slack off. My men never slack off, not while I'm around, and I find such actions on the Commander's part to be absolutely insulting. But I'm not going to argue about it. There's something about that guy; he sure doesn't act like a tyrant, but boy does he ever seem like one. The way he never even looks at you, like you're not good enough for him to pay more than a miniscule part of your attention to.   
And you know what I think? I think this whole company is going nowhere. Back when Shinra first started up, those were the days- the days when everyone prospered from Mako and they hadn't built the plate. The days when everyone could see the sun. When everyone knew the difference between day and night. When no one was poor. Why couldn't it stay like that? But I guess that's a dream even Shinra can't pull off forever.   
Recent events, though, have driven the company to become worse than just a power leech. Now it's a destroying machine. There was nothing left of Midgar except some debris, and little of it could be used to the advantage of the reconstruction of the city. Thus, Ashroth sent soldiers out everywhere- or the remainder of the soldiers, anyway- to take over mines and large resource centers. They've already taken the Mithril Mines south-west of the city, no one's alowed to pass through there anymore- it wasn't particularly traveled anyway because of the monsters, but now the only way to get o Midgar and Kalm is via boat or airship.   
And even worse, they took over Mideel! The fact that that place is resting right on top of the largest Mako Source in the world is just too tempting for Shinra. They're going to build another Midgar there, and right now there are Shinra troops occupying the whole place! And the sad thing is, even though Midgar is in shambles and Shinra is less than a sixth of its original size, it's still strong enough to do this, and no one fights back. I don't know if I can go on with this, but without it, I don't have a job, and I can't do that to Shanna and the kids. I can only wonder what Ashroth will do next, and pray it isn't too much of a disaster.   
  
Excerpt from the diary of Syfe Techro, lead engineer of the Midgar Reconstruction Project, November 19, 0 B.A.   
  
I'm beginning to worry about something. Yesterday, while working around the area where Shinra Headquarters used to be, they started getting energy readouts that were way off the scale. We didn't really know what to do; the supervisor of the area was ready to dig at it, I'm glad I got there in time to stop him. He wasn't too happy about it. Anyway, we contacted Commander Ashroth, and he seemed very interested. They called in all these scientists to look at it, and did loads of tests on it. They kept coming and going in and out of Ashroth's office, and they all looked like they'd seen ghosts. I couldn't seem to get anyone to tell me what was happening. Finally, when the day was over, Ashroth told me only this: "Continue with the operation, but instead of the original plans, I want you to fence off the area around Shinra Headquarters and ignore it until further notification." It took a lot of guts, but I mustered up the courage to ask him why after that, half afraid it would cost me my job. The conversation we had after that will remain firm in my memory forever.   
He only looked amused at my question. "I suppose that since you're the head engineer, you have a right to know," he conceded. I was astonished and relieved. Perhaps Ashroth is not the dictator I thought he was. Whatever the case, here's what he told me: "The scientists have discovered that the energy below the Shinra Headquarters area is the gathering together of an astronimically large amount of Mako energy. Basically, it's like having one gigantic materia created by fusing together several hundreds of other ones. They also said, though, that this power is incredibly unstable. To harness it with current technology would be utterly impossible, it's far too unpredictable."   
I was a little puzzled by this, and he continued to explain: "How familiar are you with the way that Mako supplies energy, Techro?" he asked me. I told him I knew very little about it, except that there was only a limited amount of it. He smiled. "That's one way of putting it, I suppose. But this energy source we've found is different than normal Mako. Do you want to know why?" I nodded, totally enthralled with curiosity. What he told me then will puzzle me for as long as I live: "This power source, though a large amount of its matter is pure Mako, is a living organism." Naturally, I was dumbstruck. I asked if this meant all Mako was alive. "Certainly not," he laughed. "But it is created by the deaths of humans. That is all we know; when people die, they add to a force that we can tap into to produce Mako. It's still sort of sketchy, but we do know that much."   
Now I couldn't help wonder at this point if this was really the right thing to do. If the deaths of people added to this force, was it really meant for the living to destroy it? Still, I was trapped in morbid fascination. I asked how this affected the power source under Shinra Headquarters. "Ah," Ashroth continued, "That is the key here, isn't it? What effects does it have on the power of Mako when the Mako is part of a living organism? The key is that this power will never run out. The Mako power can be used forever by this entity and it will never run out. Why? We have a theory. We expect that it is constantly recyclying itself, the way dead people are recycled into Mako- except that since this entity is Mako, all it must do is use more Mako to reproduce itself. However, we're also sensing a pulse in this thing- which means it has blood, a heart, lungs, and a brain. That means that it's also a normal, physical creature, but it seems that the power source is separately inside it- I suppose they could be fused, but I don't know."   
There was still something I didn't understand, though. "But if you begin to use it up, it won't have anything to recycle," I pointed out.   
"Now that's the real tricky part," Ashroth smirked. "The key is that it recycles its spent Mako. Every time it releases a charge of energy, which is happening constantly down there, it recycles what it just spent. What that means is that if we could harness its energy, we would have truly unlimited power from it. Never-ending Mako. We would use the Mako, it would return to where it came from. And there's so much Mako packed into it, it has enough power to supply abundant energy for ten Midgars."   
"Amazing," I marveled. I still didn't like the idea of recyclying people to make energy, but it was undeniably fascinating stuff. "So why can't we channel this power?"   
"Because it's alive. The problem is that although eratic, the power let off by this thing is controlled. We don't know when it will be supplying what energy. For example, if we want to power a machine with a certain amount of Mako, and this power source is giving off that amount, and we hook up to it, we have no way of keeping it at the right level of Mako. This being could simply decide to throw in three times the amount of Mako that we were using before for absolutely no reason and then destroy the machine; or it could suddenly produce only half the energy and the machine would no longer run. That's why we can't use it to power the new Midgar. It would eventually destroy the city, and possibly leave it without power for a while before that happened. That's why we're going to try to communicate with it."   
I didn't want to hear anymore after that. I had had enough. It was absolutely boggling my mind- I didn't want this being to be harnessed like a machine. Ashroth did not care the slightest bit that this thing might have feelings. To him, it was a tool. But I didn't say anything. I'm not that strong.   
  
Excerpt from the diary of Syfe Techro, lead engineer of the Midgar Reconstruction Project, December 14, 0 B.A.   
  
The scientists have been reporting that the energy below the Shinra Headquarters area is building temendously. They say it's grown to more than four times its original power since the day it was discovered. They're talking about a possible explosion. If that happens, I sure hope we get a warning.   
  
Excerpt from the diary of Syfe Techro, lead engineer of the now-deceased Midgar Reconstruction Project, January 30, 1 B.A.   
  
I don't know what happened. Well I guess I do. It was that thing, of course, that creature with the enormous power. I was discussing plans for the reconstruction of City Hall when a scientist ran breathlessly into the room yelling, "Get everyone out! She's gonna blow!"   
Well, needless to say we all got the hell out of there. Even as we evactuated, the ground began to erupt, and the dirt that got blown out of the groun would come pouring back into the craters to fill them up again. The whole earth shook, and debris flew everywhere. We lost some good men that day. I thank God I survived to come home to my wife and children.   
But what is this thing? Of course the reconstruction project has been officially ended- everything we did was destroyed and there's no way we're risking going in there again- but Ashroth's last words to me were that he would be sending someone to investigate. God have mercy on their souls.   
  
  
The story only begins to unfold here, and now I will leave it to its own ends without narration. So, in closing, I take you to a long-forgotten, little-known area where some of the most abominable experiments in the history of the Planet took place... the place that began the cataclysmic events of...   
  
FINAL FANTASY VII: Beyond Apocalypse.   
  
  
  
  
  
So many memories. Born with memories. It was strange to be born with memories.   
The being understood the reason for his very life from the second he came into existance. He was so many different things, with so much knowledge from beings passed. But there was one conciousness that consumed him, that was the majority of him, but altered by that which had been added to him.   
He was Sephiroth. And yet, not Sephiroth. Sephiroth was an individual separate from this entity- but they were one and the same in all respects. Same memories, same knowledge, but it went deeper than that; he thought what Sephiroth would think, felt what Sephiroth would feel; in essence, he was a recreation of everything Sephiroth with the addition of hundreds of thousands of billions of trillions of little chunks of Mako, little chunks called Materia. Inside this Materia was every last drop of knowledge the Cetra possessed, and every last drop of their power in addition to that of Sephiroth. He was the Cetra, he was Sephiroth, he was Jenova- he was the great combination of ultimate forces of power. And rippling through his entire body, he felt that power. He knew everything that had happened- the fight with Cloud Strife and his companions, the Meteor, Holy, the LifeStream- everything was crystal clear in his memory.   
And despite that he was all these things, he was Sephiroth most of all, because Sephiroth was the core of it all. When Sephiroth was finally killed by Cloud Strife's incredible, final Omnislash, he went to the LifeStream like any ordinary person would. But his mind was so powerful that he resisted the LifeStream, and would not be recycled to give the Planet life. He would not be part of the Planet, he could not be. And he eventually broke free from it, where it travelled underneath Shinra Headquarters, and there his counciousness emerged into the world again. And there, deep under Shinra Headquarters, was where he found a vast cave, filled with unimaginable research on cloning. And then he made a great, incredible discovery: His DNA. This lair contained thousands of samples of his DNA. He instantly bonded his mind and the Mako he brought with him from the LifeStream with his DNA, and the result was a fusion of incredible power that was not meant to be. No mind but Sephiroth's could have withstood it, and when it was done, the power he overflowed with was far greater than that of all the Cetra. Because Mako was part of him, he could constantly take more in from the LifeStream. Anyone who died could be drawn to Sephiroth and made part of him, and part of his endless power.   
And there he was. Born again. Sephiroth's offspring, and yet Sephiroth. But he was a new Sephiroth, and so he named himself Sepheros, because, as his new knowledge of the Cetra told him, their language provided an "oth" as the suffix meaning "Of great power", but the suffix "os" meant "Of ultimate power". Fully concious and with a normal, physical body, he began to experiment with his powers. Because his body's DNA was mixed with Mako, he contained access to all the knowledge and power of the ancients to an unlimited extent. It was as though he had the power of all the Materia in the world combined, and never would spend all his power because he could always draw more to himself from the LifeStream. He could cast ten Ultimas at a time, each one ten times as powerful as an ordinary Ultima spell; he could mix the powers of two Materias, producing seemingly impossible, customized elements by mixing water and fire, earth and air, and anything else, creating dozens of new, ultra-powerful spells that would devastate enemies no matter what affinity they were based on. He was the ultimate in power. The indescructable. The perfect warrior.   
And then he found the room. Something locked deep away forever, a disgusting abomination that payed tribute to the perversion of cloning: Hundreds and hundreds of identical copies of his body were lined up against the wall. They were all Sephiroths. Hojo, that fool. Sepheros saw now what he was trying to do all along. Once he saw that he had created a perfect soldier, this Sephiroth, this invincible legend, he duplicated the process hundreds of times. But why had these clones never been awakened? Sepheros turned to the file cabinets. Rummaging through all of Hojo's old files, he finally located what he was looking for, the record of the Sephiroth Army Project:   
  
This is my greatest, most ambitous project to date. I, Proffessor Hojo, will soon go down in history as the man who created the perfect soldier, the ultimate warrior, the new secret weapon of the mighty Shinra. Now, I have created aproximately five-hundred clones of Sephiroth, the legendary warrior of SOLDIER. This army will be a force that no other can match- an incredible wave of destruction that cannot be countered by any force alive.   
Unfortunately, one obstacle remains: I must find a way to alter their minds so that they will be utterly obedient to me. If I cannot do this, they are all a waste. But I will do research. I have some ideas I can try out.   
  
It was the last update, and the date was just before Hojo was killed as he took control of the Sister Ray. This horrible experiment would never be completed.   
But now, there were hundreds of Sephiroths... it took away his uniqueness. It was disgusting. There, sitting in front of him, was five hundred of himself. Should he destroy them?   
No, of course not, it was okay. He wasn't them anymore. Now his body was different from them. They were the old Sephiroth. No, they were just Sephiroth, and he was Sepheros.   
He smashed fist through one of the egg-like chambers that held the unliving clones, pulled out the limp body, and stripped it of its clothes, then put them on himself. He took the great Marasume from the clone as well, and he was now as his old self, his father, again. But now he was infinitely powerful. Now, there would be nothing to stop him from taking everything he wanted. Nothing to stop him from gaining what was rightfully his: The Planet.   
Sepheros began to destroy the cave. His awesome powers did the job easily. Then, he began to break out above the surface of the planet, blowing away the earth and destroying what lay above him. Victorious and ready to finally breath the cool air of the world above once more, he flew swiftly upward toward the hole he had created and emerged into the world, ready to begin his new life.   
He was Sephiroth. He was the Cetra. He was Mako. He was none of those. He was all of them. He was Sepheros. He was invincible. He was the perfect warrior. And he was ready to begin his quest.   
I'll avenge you, Sephiroth.   
  
A CHOCOBO FARM, EASTERN CONTINENT, SOUTHEAST OF MIDGAR   
  
"You're sure you need to go?" Cloud asked sadly.   
"Cloud, my father is finally standing up for himself," Yuffie explained. "I want to be there and help! Wu Tai will be great again."   
Cloud smiled. It was all Yuffie had ever wanted for her homeland to return to its former glory. He understood this, but would miss her. They had become good friends over the course of their past adventure, sharing conversations only the two of them could share. Of course Cloud didn't have any romantic feelings for Yuffie- she was only sixteen, afterall- but he sure would miss her. Even her unfortunate tendancy to try and take things that didn't exactly belong to her. He decided he'd let the Lightning, Ice, and Fire Materia she had pocketed go. They had way more than one for everybody of each of these Materia because of their respawning process, so it certainly wouldn't hurt.   
"Good luck," he smiled at her, bringing himself back to the present as she climbed onto a black chocobo specifically bred to take her across the mountains, since Shinra wasn't letting anyone through the Mithril Mines.   
"Have fun," Tifa added.   
"Kill some Shinra," Barret grinned.   
The three of them waved as Yuffie rode off laughing at Barret's commenting and yelling affectionate farewells. Cloud hoped that she had remembered to say goodbye to the others, too. While they hadn't all been particularly close to her, she was a part of the team, and her absence would always be a void in it.   
"Now I'm off," Barret said sadly, and swung onto his own black chocobo, Marlene on his shoulder.   
"Good luck to you too, Barret," Cloud said warmly, extending a hand to his friend. Cloud and Barret didn't get along when they first met, but they were good friends now. With a wierd expression Barret shook Cloud's hand.   
"Goodbye, Barret," Tifa said affectionately, giving him a big hug. Barret really didn't know how to respond to that. Then she turned to Marlene, who now sat in Barret's lap. "It was very brave of you to agree to go to Corel, Marlene," she said encouragingly.   
"Daddy says we'll help the poor people there," Marlene said in all the innocent bliss of a young girl eager to be the best she can be. "So I think it will be fun!"   
"That's great," Tifa smiled, noting the big grin on Barrett's face.   
"Here's the twenty-thousand Gil," Cloud said, and loaded a heavy chest of cash in the Chocobo's back. The tall, proud chocobo didn't even seem to notice.   
"You sure ya wanna send that much away?" Barrett asked for the millionth time.   
"Barrett, this is just a small fraction of the money we made on the trip. Please, take it! We're richer than we could possibly ever have need for, and besides, it's going to help those people at Corel, so it's for a good cause."   
Barrett nodded. "Allright, I guess twenty-thousand is the highest I'll go," he mused, "Just because it's helpin' those folks at Corel."   
"Right," Cloud agreed.   
Marlene and Barrett waved as they rode off. "Don't forget to write!" Marlene called back.   
"We won't!" Tifa shouted reassuringly.   
Cloud chuckled to himself as they rode off.   
"What's so funny?" Tifa asked suspiciously.   
"I really stuck forty-thousand in there," Cloud said miscievously. "I couldn't help it. The people in Corel are so poor, they need the money."   
Tifa beamed at him. "You've come a lot way from the cold mercenary you were when I found you at the train station in Midgar," she commented. Cloud shrugged. "Well, finding out you're a clone and then finding out you're not afterall sort of makes you feel perpetually happy," he pointed out. His mood was genuine, too, and it felt great. Cloud had forgotten what it felt like to be really happy.   
Tifa laughed. "I guess that's true."   
"Well, that's two of us gone," Cloud returned the conversation to the subject of Barret leaving. "I wonder who's next. Personally, I just want to find some nice place to stay- maybe Mideel- and settle down for a while. Just lead a normal life. Can't see why they'd want to go get involved in the world again."   
Tifa smiled. "I'm so happy I don't care what we do!" she announced. "If only Barrett and Yuffie weren't leaving... but we'll see them again after everything's calmed down. All they need to do is help out in their homelands."   
"I wonder if Shinra will have learned their lesson," Cloud mused as they walked back to the farm. Red XIII emerged as they approached the doorway.   
"Ah, Cloud and Tifa," he nodded. "The two of you are the last ones I must say farewell to."   
Cloud and Tifa's shoulders slumped.   
"I'm sorry," Red said apolagetically, noticing their motion. "But I am the guardian of Cosmo Canyon, and my presence is neccessary there."   
"I guess so," Cloud admitted. "Well, see you around Red. It's been great."   
Red nodded. "We will undoubtedly see one another again sometime in the future," he said solemnly. He shook paws with Cloud and Tifa, then ran off, howling a final farewell.   
"That's three down," Cloud sighed as they entered the kitchen of the chocobo farm. Choco Billy was getting out a package of chocobo feed. He looked up as the two of them entered.   
"Oh, Cloud, Tifa," he said in an offhand manner as he picked up the heavy bag. "I heard something on the radio this morning that I thought might interest you."   
"Yeah?" Cloud asked curiously. Tifa didn't seem too interested, but payed attention to be polite. She really didn't want to get involved in the outside world right now either, even though they had agreed they would continue to fight against Shinra in the Midgar Area if necessary, at least as long as they were at the chocobo farm.   
"They say that Shinra has moved forces toward Mideel and are occupying it," Billy explained. "Everyone expects they're going to try to turn Mideel into another Midgar, what with all the vast Mako resources under it."   
Cloud groaned. He couldn't believe that Shinra was already causing this much trouble. First they block the path through the Mithril Mines, and now this. Next they'd take the Gold Saucer and turn it into an air base.   
"Well," he sighed, "I guess that means I'm not going to Mideel."   
"You can stay here as long as you like," Billy said reassuringly as he exited the house to feed the chocobos their lunch.   
"Thanks," Cloud called. He decided to relax a little. He walked into the living room and flopped down wearily on the couch. It felt good to wear normal clothes. His mercenary/SOLDIER outfit was now hung up, hopefully for good, and the Ultima Weapon rested safaley under his matress, no longer strapped across his back. He could flop down comfortably now.   
Instead of his old adventuring attire, he now wore a casual t-shirt and flannel button-up shirt over it with a pair of baggy shorts. It wasn't particularly nice whether around there, but it wasn't cold, and fortunately it was summer. Nice relaxing weather, just what he needed. He snapped on the radio, hoping to hear something encouraging.   
"The Midgar Reconstruction Project has now been officially abandoned," the news reporter announced. "Details are sketchy, but suppossedly un unstable experimental power source located under the former headquarters of Shinra Inc. has detonated, leaving the area unsuitable for construction and destroying what little progress the wokers had already made. Shinra reports that they will soon send a team to investigate the situation and see if they can discover more information about the nature of this-"   
Cloud switched it off. This was interesting news. Could it have been another of Hojo's odd experiments? Whatever the case, he didn't feel like hearing about Shinra right now. He was comfortable and happy to be through with his adventure. Shinra could wait for a while. Wait until there's another Sephiroth. Then, if that happened, he might pick up his sword again.   
Instead, his thoughts drifted once again back to old times. He went over in his head for the millionth time all the amazing moments of the trip; the times that he and Tifa had spent chatting in the bar after she found him at the train station, his negotiations with Yuffie when they first found her, the feel of being among the first humans in the world to fly into outer space... the list was endless. Then, like a runner without shoes will inevitably stub his toe if he runs for long enough, Cloud's memories hit Aeris again. He had tried not to think about her anymore. The pain he had felt when her death first occured had been covered up now. He had barried it over with thoughts of vengeance upon her killer at first, but now he covered it with thoughts of joy at his success in stopping Meteor and the fact that his life was finally sorted out. But every so often, he accidentally dug the memories up again, like he was drawn there and could not resist it for too long. And every time it happened, every time he thought of his memories of Aeris, he felt all the pain go tumbling back into his chest, his head, his mind, that he had felt just as the death of Aeris took place. He had loved her- how much he did not know, and in what way- but all he knew now was that she was gone and would never come back.   
But it was worst of all when one horrible sentence ran through his mind, a sentece he couldn't block off completely, a question he had to ask himself every now and then, though he despised it: What could I have done to prevent it?   
Cloud knew that there was nothing he could have done to prevent it. And he also knew that if he had, the Planet probably would have been hit by Meteor, and then Sephiroth would have controlled everything. He knew that Aeris had to die. He just hated it, and was ashamed of the fact that he had almost done it himself.   
And then, the last step in the horrible chain would kick in. His hatred of Aeris's killer would well up again. Sephiroth. The damned name of the man who tried to control the Planet, burnt down Nibelheim, killed Tifa's father, and murdered all of the innocent people still in Midgar at the near-impact of Meteor. He had done all this, but Cloud didn't care about that at times like this. He had killed Aeris, and for that he could never be forgiven, even though in doing it he defeated himself. Cloud could not force himself to forgive Sephiroth, only to understand that he should forgive him.   
  
  
  
  
MIDGAR RUINS   
  
"Hey Rude, do you still like Tifa?" Reno asked lazily as he picked his way over some rocks.   
Elena rolled her eyes.   
"Umm... well..." Rude shifted around uneasily, looking over at Elena.   
"Oh, please," Elena threw her hands up in the air. "You two are so childish. I wish Tseng was still here. He was actually a man. You two sound like adolescant boys. Except that they're usually able to talk about the opposite sex without squirming."   
"Fine," said Rude. "I'll just come out and say it. I like Tifa. Umm... a little. Maybe just sort of... heh umm... er..." Rude nervously pulled at his collar and undid his top shirt button.   
Elena sighed and hung her head hopelessly.   
"Well," said Reno, "I liked that Aeris girl, but I dunno where she is. She just wasn't with them anymore."   
"Maybe she died," Elena suggested viciously.   
"I think Yuffie was hot," Rude mused.   
"She was like sixteen, you perv!" Reno replied in disgust.   
"Hey, I'm not saying I wanna do it with her, I just think-"   
"Shuttup!!" Elena screamed.   
"Sorry," Reno and Rude muttered in unison.   
They had been sent on a rather unpredictable mission, which was why they were so uneasy. Making light conversation was Reno and Rude's way of making light of the situation- but Elena would rather just go about it seriously. That was why the turks bounced off eachother so insanely.   
"So," Elena began a new, more serious conversation, "What do you guys think we'll find at the ruins of Midgar?"   
Reno shrugged. "I dunno. Hey, Rude, did you ever see Scarlet before she got killed in that robot? She was pretty hot."   
"Yeah, but she was an ass."   
"Definately an ass. A pretty good one, though-"   
Elena felt like crying.   
When the turks finally reached the ruins of Midgar, Elena was almost relieved at their creepy emptiness- perhaps Reno and Rude would be a little scared and stop talking about who was hot. She had had so much of that that she felt she could blow chunks if she heard it one more time. And they wouldn't even mention her! Elena knew she was a fairly decent looking girl. Why were they too nervous to talk about her in her presence?   
They split up and started looking around. Elena hoped that Reno and Rude would take their work seriously. Ever since Tseng had been killed, there was no order in the turks. Reno and Rude were complete slackers. She was the only one left who tried to get any work done. It was far from the glory days under Tseng. If only he was still around...   
Elena shook her head and told herself to concentrate on her work. There didn't seem to be anything abnormal about the ruins of Midgar- just the ruins of Midgar. That was when she almost fell in the hole.   
It was huge. At least twenty yards across. And it looked like some sort of crater, except more like it had been made from the inside. Whatever the case, it looked like some enormously powerful blast had erupted through the ground here. She ran back to find Reno and Rude and show them her discovery. She found them sitting behind a heap of trash, having another conversation.   
"Man, Elena's the hottest of them all," Reno was saying.   
"I know," Rude agreed. "She's gorgeous."   
Elena snickered silently. Maybe they did think she was something special afterall. But... she should be mad at them. "Hey, you guys, come look what I found!" she exclaimed as she appraoched them, pretending not to have heard their conversation.   
They practically jumped out of their suits. They quickly snapped to attention, stammering, "Oh, yes of course Elena, er, we were just taking a break, let's go!"   
Elena looked at them suspiciously, then led the way to her find.   
  
THE CHOCOBO FARM, 3 MONTHS AFTER THE DEPARTURE OF BARRET AND YUFFIE   
  
Cloud had gotten up early that morning to watch the sunrise. It looked spectacular this morning, lighting up the sky with just the right combo of pinks and purples to look absolutely gorgeous. He could really learn to like this casual living stuff. He had made so much gil over his adventures that he could be financially well off for the rest of his life. From now on, it was going to be the good life. Maybe he'd move to town and find a girlfriend. Six years ago, at the age of sixteen, he hadn't been interested, but now it seemed like a pretty good idea.   
He started as he heard footsteps coming through the door and onto the deck behind him, but saw that it was only Tifa coming up to watch the sunrise too.   
"Fancy meeting you here," he smiled at her.   
Tifa pulled up a chair. "Nice to live in such a relaxed atmosphere, isn't it?"   
"I'll say."   
They sat and watched the sunrise for a while longer, chatting idly about nothing in particular. Just as the last traces of the glorious sight were beginning to fade away, Cloud suddenly noticed a small red speck in the distance- coming closer to them. Pretty fast, too.   
"Hey Tifa," he pointed, "Doesn't that sort of look like-?"   
She seemed to have seen just as he started talking. "The buggy!" she finished for him. They exchanged a couple of puzzled glances, then went running downstairs to meet whoever it was who had found the buggy again.   
The red dot approached pretty quickly, and they realized that yes, this was definately the buggy. The driver slammed on the brakes near the chocobo farm, and out leapt Barret, Marlene on his shoulder, and surprisingly, Yuffie jumped out after him.   
"What are you guys doing here?!" Cloud exclaimed happily.   
"Hey, what sorta greetin' is that?!" a happy Barret yelled back in response, as the reunited companions came together.   
"I missed you guys!" Yuffie yelled as she ran towards them. "Oh man, Wu Tai is so cool now! We're like, kicking every Shinra's ass over there..."   
"Whoa, slow down, Yuffie!" Cloud laughed as Barret caught up with his now-17 companion.   
"So what brought you guys back here?" Tifa inquired.   
Barret's face grew somber. "Well, to tell ya the truth I need help. Shinra's beginnin' to try and take Corel. Things were goin' real smoothly, but then those Shinra came in, and... damn, they ruined everything!"   
That made Cloud's insides burn with rage- the gil he had happily donated to the good cause of restoring poor Corel had now been wasted by his greedy enemies.   
Tifa was upset too. "What?!" she exclaimed. "They've already got the Mithril Mines, what do they need Corel for?"   
"They don't," Barret growled. "They're just greedy punks!" He had collected himself enough not to swear around Marlene.   
"They ruined the fort me and Denny built," Marlene said on the verge of tears.   
"Oh, don't worry Marlene, we'll set everything right again," Tifa promised, stooping down to comfort the crying girl. Marlene immediately grabbed Tifa in a tight hug and wouldn't let go. Cloud almost laughed at Barret's thankful expression. He was no good at that sort of thing.   
"So," he concluded, "You came back to ask us to help get Shinra out of Corel?"   
"Yeah," Barret admitted. "But I was actually thinkin somethin more along the lines of invading Shinra HQ. We dun it before, and they were a lot stronger then- I say, why not do it again?"   
Cloud thought about it. "It has possibilities," he mused. "We should discuss it in detail later. So what are you doing here?" He turned his attention to Yuffie.   
"Well, when I heard what they were doing to Corel, I came to help!" Yuffie announced proudly. "They didn't want me to trash the guys that were ruining Marlene's fun, though." She looked sullen.   
"Thanks anyway, Miss Yuffie," Marlene said politely, hugging Yuffie's legs as high as she could reach. Yuffie laughed. "I've never been very good with kids," she mused.   
"Well, what are we all standing around here for?" Tifa suddenly broke in. "Let's go inside! It may not be good news what's happened to Corel, but at least we can enjoy being reunited!"   
So, they went inside and had a big breakfast with everybody. Cid, Reeve (Cait Sith's actual personage), and even Vincent were happy to see Barret and Yuffie back. If only Red XIII had been there, too, everything would be complete.   
That night, they all gathered around to discuss whether or not to attack the new Shinra HQ.   
"You know," Vincent pointed out, "It's a very easy structure to attack. Shinra is conducting operations in the Mithril Mines, Mideel, and now Corel. Their forces are extremely spread out, and they don't have much left as it is. Not only that, but this new base they've set up is not a tower, as the old Shinra HQ was. It is simply a flat building that stretches far out. That is not a good formation to defend an attack. I think if we used our stronger Materia, we could pull this off and take care of their leaders. Without leaders, an organization like Shinra falls apart completely."   
"Vincent has a good point," Cloud acknowledged. They all agreed. "It's about time we ended Shinra, anyway," Cloud shrugged. He was trying to cover up his regret at having to put on his old SOLDIER uniform again. But what was necessary was necessary, and he would do it.   
SHINRA HQ   
  
"I'm telling you, we did find something," Elena persisted at the unhearing ears of High Commander Ashroth. "Something was working its way up from the inside. It was trying to break free, to get out. We need to look at what's beneath the hole it came from."   
Ashroth stared at his nails, which he was carefully and painstakingly trimming. He would not so much as make one glance in Elena's direction. It irritated her beyond control. She almost lost it, but at the last minute reminded herself that her job was at stake.   
"I'm not interested in where it came from," Ashroth said nonchalantly. "I wanted you to give me information on what sort of creature this thing could be. Instead you give me a hole in the ground."   
Elena gritted her teeth. "I'm sorry we didn't find what you wanted, sir," she forced out.   
"Well," Ashroth replied coldly, his face not changing expression, "That still doesn't tell me what I want to know. Why don't the three of you get back there and see if you can find me something useful?"   
Elena blinked. They were being sent back there again? What did he consider them to be, the useless leftovers of Rufus Shinra that he had to find something to do with?   
"Sir, we have already-"   
"Dismissed," he said emotionlessly, even now not looking at her.   
Reno and Rude stood up to leave. Elena looked at them helplessly, then back at Ashroth. Reno and Rude walked out.   
"Was there something, Elena?" Ashroth asked, and he still wouldn't look up at her.   
"No," she replied. It was all she could do not to blow up at him. She stood up, turned on her heel, and left.   
  
AN HOUR LATER   
  
Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Vincent, Cid, Yuffie, and Cait Sith- who Reeve was controlling to help out with the attack- stood on a peak overlooking the new Shinra HQ. Like Vincent had said, it was a flat building.   
"I wonder if we could come from above somehow, like when we parachuted into Midgar that one time," Cid mused.   
"What would we parachute from?" asked Cait Sith.   
"I'm working on it," Cid admitted.   
"We can't parachute in," Vincent argued. "I say we attack with heavy summons from many sides, and have one main group who'll make the big offensive strike amidst all the confusion."   
"That sounds like a plan," Cloud consented. "Everybody okay with that?"   
Everyone nodded.   
"Okay," Cloud mused. "Who's going to do what?"   
"You decide," Tifa said, pointing at him. "You're the leader, remember?"   
"Oh yeah," Cloud said sullenly. "Okay, here's what we'll do. I want the main strike force to consist of three people, one will carry the Master Summon, one will carry the Master Magic, and one will carry the Master Skill. That should be enough to take them to High Commander Ashroth, the key figure we want to assasinate here."   
Everybody nodded.   
"I want volunteers to be part of the main attack force. I know I'll go, and I'll take the Master Magic. I just want to make sure everyone realizes this is the most dangerous job, so don't volunteer unless you're sure. Who volunteers?"   
Everybody raised their hand. They started laughing, and even Cloud did.   
"Looks like you'll have to do it tough-like," Barret grinned at him.   
"Okay," said Cloud, "Me, Tifa, and Barret will be the main attack force. I want Cait Sith to attack from the north with Bahamut. Cid attacks from the south with Neo Bahamut. Vincent from the east with Bahamut Zero. And Yuffie, take the Knights of the Round Table. You're the backup."   
Yuffie stared at him with huge eyes. "Me?" she whispered in disbelief. Yuffie had a soft spot for powerful Materia, and Knights of the Round was absolutely the most powerful Materia there was. Nothing else came close, not even Ultima, not even the legendary Bahamut Zero.   
"Just so long as I know you won't run off with it," Cloud grinned at her. Yuffie blushed as the embarrasing memories of her immature Materia theft swept back.   
"Okay," Cloud continued, "Now I also want each one of the side-attackers to have one mastered magic Materia, like lighting, fire, earth, any of those. Don't take Contain, give that to Yuffie, she's the backup and she needs the powerful stuff."   
Yuffie began to tremble. Except for Ultima, Contain was the best Magic Materia there was.   
"Why does the backup need so much power?" asked Cid.   
"Because if we're in trouble and we need to get out of there, Knights of the Round and Flare are what will do that the best, don't you think? My top priority here is that everybody lives. Allright, take your Materia, and move out!"   
Everybody took their Materia and moved out. Cloud, Tifa, and Barret stood ready to come in fast and hard. Blitzkrieg. Cloud prayed that Yuffie would do a good job should she be needed.   
Then, the special effects show began. First, a great gray cloud began to billow up in the sky. The soldiers began to scamper over to it, wondering what was happening- a minute ago, the sky had been sunny and clear. They immediately wished they hadn't as a tremendous, jet-black dragon-like creature emerged from the smoke, and began to charge up a huge energy ball in its mouth.   
On the other side of Shinra HQ, a similar event was taking place, only this time, the dragon was descending from the sky, and it was bigger than the other one. This dragon looked like the other one except with dark red biological armor all over its body. It began to charge its own energy ball.   
Then, both dragons released their energy. The smaller dragon's energy released as a flying ball of purple force, and slammed into the base with tremendous, spherical nexus of destruction, starting fires, crumbling beams, and sending human bodies flying apart in several pieces. The other blast came as a steady stream of pure firey energy, seeming to utterly desintegrate everything in its path. Eventually it subsided, leaving even greater destruction in its wake, and the dragons departed. Finally, one gigantic, precicely aimed blast of pure solar energy came rushing down from the heavens, slamming into the center of the building and sending debris hurling all over the area.   
"Charge!" Cloud shouted, and they did so. The blasts of the Bahamuts had utterly confused the guards, who had never seen anything like this, and precious few of them even noticed the companions running into the complex. Every time they came up against an impassable door, Cloud smashed it down with the Ultima Weapon, or, if it was reinforced, blew it apart with a well-aimed Ultima. Tifa took care of the guards with her Master Skill Materia by using the All-Enemies power to smash down a row of guards with a single punch. Barret helped by simply firing his Missing Score. Sometimes the simplest method was still the best, even when you're carrying a Master Summon Materia.   
The problem was that they didn't know where they were going. But soon they blew into a highly guarded area, and found High Commander Ashroth making an emergency exit up to the roof. They ran up after him. The roof was not a desirable place to do this- the fires from the attacks of the Bahamuts were not natural and thus were spreading over the entire base, and many parts of it felt like they could cave in any moment. They began to run after Ashroth, and Cloud quickly took him down by casting Quake and knocking him to the ground. They surrounded him.   
"What are you going to do, kill me?" he asked, not looking up at them. Guards were following them up.   
"Barret, could you take care of them?" Cloud asked, waving in an offhand manner at the guards. Barret nodded and cast Leviathan, sending out a huge wave that neatly dumped the soldiers off of the roof.   
"As you can see, we're a lot more powerful than you assumed," Cloud said menacinly. "Would you like to know who we are?" He had to admit, he sort of enjoyed moments like this.   
Ashroth smiled, picked himself up, and dusted his pants off. "I know who you are, Mister Strife," he said confidently. "And I believe that there is something in the air right now that should be consuming more of your attention than myself."   
Startled, Cloud turned abruptly to look into the sky. Someone had cast Comet at him! Cloud countered with a well-aimed Flare that blew the Comet to pieces. It wasn't any good- whoever had done it had now cast Comet 2.   
"Everybody get outa here!" he yelled, and they scattered in confusion. Ashroth, however, simply stood and stared into the sky. Cloud felt explosions all around him, knocking him off his balance and singing him. Sometimes a chunk of a comet would hit him in the leg, or the back. He eventually collapsed, the Comet rain over, but his stamina depleted.   
He looked up and saw something new in the sky. There was a small, glowing dot heading towards him. As it grew, he could see that it pulsed with an awesome power, and as it got even closer, it took the form of a man. Then, when Cloud realized what form that was, he almost had a heart attack.   
It couldn't be. And yet, the entity had now floated gently down to the ground in front of him. It wasn't possible, but standing a mere ten feet in front of Cloud was the greatest enemy of his life, the one he hated for the death of one he loved. It was Sephiroth.   
"Sephiroth," he whispered. He felt the wounds he had taken begin to strengthen something in him. He just needed to be beaten a little more...   
"No," Sephiroth shook his head. "I am not Sephiroth. Although, he is part of me, a large part, enough that I have chosen to accept his life as my own. But I am Sepheros, the greater Sephiroth, the new and improved Sephiroth, the ultimate Sephiroth."   
Cloud's head spun. He heard Tifa mutter a curse from behind him, and Barret yelled the same word a second later. They had seen the vision from a nightmare, too.   
Cloud slowly stood up. Sepheros smiled. "You will feel my power mercilessly destroy you. You do not realize what you are dealing with. But you will, you will."   
"Hit me," Cloud whispered to Tifa.   
"What?!" Tifa exclaimed.   
"Do it!"   
Tifa hit him a little.   
"Hard!"   
"Cloud, I can't!"   
Barret did it instead. It hurt, but suddenly Cloud felt a jolting sensation and his body pumped with an inhuman power.   
"Meteorain!" he shouted, and leapt high into the air, utterly defying the forces of gravity, and furiously slashed the Ultima Weapon through the air, sending a shower of mini-meteors down on Sepheros. He flinched at each one as it exploded on impact with his body, but when Cloud's rush was finished and he returned to the ground as weak as before, he suddenly realized that his attack had had virtually no effect on this "Sepheros." Whatever he was, he was beyond the power of the original Sephiroth an almost infinite amount.   
"That's just the beginning," Sepheros said as if he could read Cloud's thoughts. He floated a ways back, as easily as if he weren't affected by gravity in the slightest. Perhaps he wasn't.   
Cloud wasn't going to wait for Sepheros to take action, though. Realizing the next attack was probably going to dish out serious pain, he cast Full Cure on himself immediately. Barret had thought to bring along a couple of X-Potions, which he and Tifa quickly drank. Now they were ready to take on what Sepheros was going to do.   
And yet, nothing happened. "Okay guys, let's take him down while we can," Cloud suggested. "Everbody ready the strongest you have!"   
He charged up for a blast of Ultima. Barret summoned Bahamut Zero. Tifa prepared for a 4X attack.   
Then, they simultaniously released. The Ultima exploded in a fury of green light, mixing with the deep white light of the tremendous Bahamut Zero blast, and Tifa's furious attacks were swift and true. When the smoke cleared, Sepheros stood unswayed.   
"You can't seem to do much to me," Sepheros chuckled. Cloud didn't remember Sephiroth ever chuckling, or even smiling. There was something in this besides Sephiroth, allright.   
"I won't let you win!" Cloud screamed in rage. He had to do something. He cast Ultima again. It didn't seem to do anything.   
"Okay," Sepheros said with feigned resignation, "I guess I'm going to have to show you how to cast Ultima, because you're obviously not doing a very good job. Actually, let me show you three." Cloud's eyes went wide as he saw not one, but three glowing balls of green energy form at Sepheros's oustretched hands. They released before he could run, and as the blast made impact, he felt his body thrown wildly around and the heat of the incredible amount of energy in Ultima singe him painfully. When it was done, he could barely move. He weakly lifted his torso. It was all he could do; standing was out of the question. Three? was the question that running through his head. Three?   
Cloud looked around. Barret and Tifa were unconcious. Sepheros began to float closer. This was the end. It had to be.   
"Have you ever felt lighting, ice, and fire all hit your body in tremendous force at the same time?" Sepheros whispered. Cloud didn't answer. He couldn't move his jaw. Sepheros raised his hand and unleashed another fraction of his power. Cloud screamed as the multi-affinity attack thrashed his body back and forth, and then all was utter blackness.   
Cloud never knew how long that blackness lasted- but the next thing he knew, he was standing again, his energy fully restored, feeling like he was ready to take on the world. What was going on? He looked around, and saw that Tifa and Barret had felt the same effect. He looked upward and saw the summon monster Phoenix moving back into the ground at the feet of... Red XIII! But that wasn't what really got his attention. Knights of the Round was smacking Sepheros around like a little rubber ball. So even he wasn't invincible.   
"Come on, you guys!" Yuffie shouted from below them. "Get down from there! We gotta get outa here while we can!"   
They didn't take any time to try and figure out what was happening. Cloud gave Red a thumbs up, who in turn winked and smiled at him, then the four companions on the rooftop ran to the edge and leapt down.   
"Let's get outa here!" Cloud yelled as they all hopped into the buggy. Cloud floored it, heading in a northeastward direction, up past Midgar. The buggy was just out of Sepheros's sight by the time he pulled himself to his feet after being beaten around. It appeared that there was a power that could stop him afterall...   
SHINRA HQ, TWO HOURS AFTER THE ATTACK IS OVER   
  
Elena had just finished packing to go on her new assignment. Much as she hated it, she had to obey orders. As she walked through the twisting corridors of what remained of the decimated Shinra HQ, she happened to walk past Ashroth's office. Inside she overheard a small fragment of a conversation he was having:   
"The goal is no longer to harness this power, Hojo," said the commander. "We now need to find a way to make sure it cannot destroy us. I want you to develop a shield that repels all energy discharge from Mako-"   
That was interesting. Hojo still alive? Elena stored the info away for future reference. She met up with Reno and Rude a minute or so later, and decided not to tell them about it. Soon she had placed other things in her mind above it.   
The three turks exited Shinra HQ. Reno and Rude were discussing what happened on a soap opera last night. Elena didn't think she could take this today. But instead of blowing up at them, she finally understood them. The turks weren't the turks anymore. Now that Ashroth was in charge, they weren't being taken seriously. He was just sending them off on things he made sound important, when they were really completely useless. She was furious. What would Tseng have done?   
Well, there was only one thing to do. Exactly what Reno and Rude were doing. If they weren't going to be taken seriously, they wouldn't take Shinra seriously. But she decided to check with them first.   
"Why do you guys slack off?" she asked bluntly as they began the trek back to the Midgar ruins.   
Reno and Rude began laughing. "Good one, Elena," Rude commented.   
"No, I'm serious," Elena persisted.   
"You mean you really don't know?" Reno asked in amusement.   
"I have a theory. Just humor me."   
"Okay," Reno shrugged. "It's that Ashroth guy. He doesn't take us seriously. I mean, when's the last time the turks had a real job? We're not useful anymore, so why even try to make good on the assignments we're given?"   
"That's what I thought," Elena confirmed. "Okay, you guys are right about that. But why not take it the next step? Why not just quit?"   
"Because, they still pay us," Rude pointed out.   
"That's true, I guess," Elena shrugged. "But wouldn't you feel better if you were doing something real? Getting out and living, instead of just sitting on your asses?"   
"What exactly did you have in mind?" Reno asked suspiciously.   
"Let's be adventurers!" Elena threw it out in the open. She would much rather do that than be a useless turk.   
Reno and Rude looked at her like she was crazy.   
"Why?!" Reno asked in utter puzzlement.   
"Because!" Elena shouted. "We'd be living! Not this stupid life of sitting in the doldrums pretending to be part of Shinra! I hate Shinra! Why would I want to pretend to be part of it?! Well I'm quitting, and I'm going to be an adventurer. You guys do what you like."   
Elena felt pretty good about that. She felt better when Reno and Rude exchanged glances that seemed to say "This is COOL!" and vigorously agreed to come along. So it was official. They were no longer part of Shinra. It was the most fun Elena had had in years. If only Tseng was there...   
"The first thing we need to do is get out of these stuffy suits," Elena decided. She had unnoficially made herself the leader. "I mean, who wants to go adventuring in uniforms? Come on, let's head to Kalm and go clothes shopping."   
"Whatever you say," Reno said happily. So the ex-turks turned from a northward path to a northeast path, heading toward the little town of Kalm.   
  
MIDGAR PLAINS, NORTHEAST OF MIDGAR   
  
The buggy blazed across the fields, just generally going nowhere.   
"Why are you here, Red?" Cloud asked as they made their escape.   
"I came for help," Red explained. "Shinra has attacked Cosmo Canyon. They're occupying it and there's nothing I can do because they have hostages."   
"Not you too!" Cloud exclaimed in disbelief.   
"What?" Red asked curiously.   
"Barret came back because Corel was being invaded already," Tifa explained.   
"I see," Red mused. "It's sort of strange, don't you think? All three of the places that we split up to have been attacked by Shinra. Wu Tai, Corel, and now Cosmo Canyon. Do you think that perhaps Shinra is following us?"   
"Interesting," Cait Sith mused. "I wish I could still be an insider in Shinra. It would probably help a lot."   
"Well, what do we do now?" asked Yuffie.   
"We need stuff. Potions, ethers, 'n what not," Cid offered.   
"But getting away from Sepheros should be our highest priority," Vincent argued. "Another meeting with him could be absolutely fatal."   
"We should go ta Kalm 'n stock up on supplies!" Cid insisted. "We ain't got nothin' but our weapons and Materia! Besides, I'm almost outa cigs."   
"That's all you can think of when we're being chased by Sephiroth the Second with more power than the whole LifeStream?" Red asked in a amusement.   
"We can't go to Kalm," Cloud shook his head. "If that maniac finds us again while we're in Kalm the whole town will go up in flames."   
"Do you really think he's that strong?" Yuffie shivered at Red's comment.   
"He could be," Red admitted. "I don't know. But anyone who can fire three Ultimas at the same time should be feared."   
"You can say that again," Cloud said bitterly as painful memories of what it was like to be smashed by three Ultimas seeped back into his head. Barret and Tifa nodded.   
"Why would he have attacked us?" Vincent wondered aloud.   
"He seems to sort of be Sephiroth, but something else, too. Maybe he thinks that the whole Jenova-Meteor thing isn't over yet, because there he is," Cloud suggested. "And even worse, maybe it isn't," he added as an afterthought. "Anyway, our main concern right now should be trying to fight this guy. We know that Knights of the Round can at least hold him back, but we don't know how much of a lasting effect it has on him. For now we'll just have to run until we know how to fight effectively. But I think I have an idea for how we can slow him down even more."   
"And that would be?" Barret prompted him.   
"If we attatch Knights of the Round to Quadra Magic, we should be able to keep him occupied with that for quite a long time."   
"That should work," Vincent agreed. "And I believe I have an idea of who may be able to help us. Shinra."   
"What?!" half the companions exclaimed in surprise.   
"Think about it," Vincent said quietly. "We have a common enemy now. We don't know if he was after us or the Shinra base. Wouldn't it be in the best interest of both sides to try to defeat him together?"   
"Ain't no way I'm gonna be no ally with Shinra!" Barret yelled stubbornly.   
"It may be our only hope. Shinra is perhaps the only ones with enough research power to figure out a way to block this... Sepheros's power."   
"I think Vincent's right again," Cloud admitted. "Let's turn back towards Shinra HQ and see if we can find a common cause after all this."   
Barret grumbled a few curses and sank down into his seat. Cloud swung the buggy back around and began heading southwest back toward Shinra HQ.   
  
THIRTY MINUTES LATER   
  
The turks were a little startled to see a car coming their way. Cars weren't too common outside Midgar. This was one of those big off-roaders, too.   
"Hey, why not ask for a lift?" asked Rude.   
"They're going the other direction," Elena pointed out.   
"That's why we might have to do a little more than ask," Reno explained.   
"Ooooh, I get it," Elena grinned. "Why not? We're free, we can do whatever we want! I'll use my Earth Materia."   
As the buggy approached, the three turks hid behind a rock. "This'll be good," Reno said excitedly.   
"Quake 2," Elena whispered, and the ground began to shake furiously.   
  
Cloud suddenly felt the buggy go wildly out of control, and then it began bouncing up and down furiously.   
"What're ya doin', kid?!" Cid yelled, trying to keep his cigarette in his mouth.   
"I'm not doing anything!" Cloud responded helplessly. The rumbling eventually stopped.   
"That was a Quake spell, I'm sure of it," Red announced.   
"Well then, let's go out there and give whoever's doing it a piece of our minds," Cloud said angrily. He was already stressed out enough, and certainly didn't need this right now.   
The nine companions leapt from the buggy, brandishing their weapons and landing in their battle poses. When he saw the three Turks standing there looking at them stupidly, he almost screamed.   
"YOU!" was a yell that could be heard from several places at once several different times for the next minute.   
"We didn't know it was you," Elena said apolagetically.   
"Hey, why apolagize to them?!" shouted Reno.   
"Because they outnumber us 3 to 1," Elena muttered back at him through the corner of her mouth.   
"Oh yeah," he said dissapointedly.   
"You just made a really bad day a lot worse," Cloud said menacingly.   
"Sorry. We really don't want a fight right now."   
"Then why the hell did you just try to highjack us?!"   
"We didn't know it was you!"   
"Oh, so you think that means you have the right to-"   
"Cloud," came a small, sweet voice from behind him.   
He turned around to face Tifa. "Uh.. what?" he asked in confusion.   
"Shinra... turks," said Tifa.   
Cloud scratched his head for a moment, then realization slowly dawned on his face, followed by anger. "Can't we talk to Ashroth directly?"   
"Actually, this is probably a more prudent method," Red argued.   
"What are you guys whispering about?" Elena asked suspiciously.   
Cloud turned around. "Okay, you guys, truce," he forced himself to say. The turks let out sighs of relief. "But, on one condition," added Cloud.   
"What?" Elena asked apprehensively.   
"You need to arrange for us to meet with High Commander Ashroth."   
"Ocrap," said Reno.   
"We'rescrewed," said Rude.   
"Shuttup," said Elena. "Well, to be honest with you we can't really do that," she explained cautiously.   
Cloud raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"   
"Well," Elena began, "When Ashroth took over Shinra, he changed a lot of things that Rufus had set up. He didn't really like Rufus very much, you see. And since we were Rufus's special assignment group, he treated us like we were nothings, sending us on these stupid little errands that weren't even useful. He made a joke out of us. So, we quit. Now we're just ordinary adventurers."   
"Adventurers?" Cloud had to try not to laugh. He'd done a lot of adventuring, and it was hilarious to think of the turks doing what he had done in their nice suits and everything.   
"We're going to get better clothes as soon as we can," put in Reno.   
"But does Ashroth know this yet?" Tifa asked, hoping they could still get something out of this.   
"Well, no, not yet, but even if we tried to arrange it, he wouldn't listen to us. I swear."   
"Allright," said Tifa. "Nevermind. See you later."   
"Yeah," Cloud said lamely. He hoped he wouldn't, though.   
"Why would you want to see Ashroth?" Elena asked as if they hadn't said farewell.   
"Why would you care?" Barret asked suspiciously.   
"I'm just curious. Maybe it's something we can help you with instead."   
"What are you doing?!" Reno whispered desperately to Elena.   
"Watch me work," Elena winked at him.   
"I don't think so," Cloud shook his head. "We're looking for a way to fight back against the power of the entity that they found underneath Midgar. It seems to have taken the form of Sephiroth, and it also seems to want to kill us."   
"That can't be good," Elena mused. "But, believe it or not, I can help you."   
Barret snorted. "Yeah right."   
"What do you want to say, Elena?" Tifa asked politely.   
"Well, I don't particularly want to say it," Elena shrugged. "I'm indifferent. It's you that I think wants to hear it."   
"Okay, let's hear," Cloud prompted her.   
"First you have to give us something."   
Reno and Rude were looking at her strangely.   
"Of course," Cloud rolled his eyes. "I should have known."   
"We want to come with you!" Elena announced. "Let's be partners!"   
"We do?!" Reno exclaimed.   
"Yes," Elena said firmly.   
"Oh," said Reno. "Did you know that, Rude?"   
"Yeah. I want to."   
"Hmm," Reno mused. "Okay, let's join them."   
"Good idea."   
"Hey!" Cloud objected. "We didn't say that was okay yet!"   
"I think we should kick their asses," said Yuffie.   
"I like that girl more every time I see her," Barret commented.   
"Let us talk about this for a second," Cloud told the turks. The companions had a mini-meeting.   
"Okay," Cloud began. "We want to know what this thing Elena's talking about is because it's our only lead. It's better than nothing. The question is whether or not we can trust them enough to let them tavel with us."   
"They sounded honest to me," Tifa shrugged.   
"I agree," Red nodded.   
"Anyone else?" asked Cloud. Vincent raised his hand.   
"Yeah, why not," Cait Sith added. "They aren't going to cause any trouble, and besides, in times like these, you have to admit we could use all the help we can get, and as aloof as they are the turks are pretty good in a fight."   
"I vote that one, too," said Cloud. "Cait Sith has a good point."   
"Whatever," Cid shrugged. "It's fine with me."   
"Well," Yuffie mused, "I guess that Reno one is sort of cute. Okay."   
Everybody looked at Barret. Barret grumbled some barely intelligable swears, then quietly agreed. They turned around.   
"Allright," Cloud announced, "You're in."   
"Cool," said Elena. "Now, let's talk."   
  
Sephiroth coming back to haunt him, but Hojo too. "How's that possible?!"   
"Actually, you shouldn't be surprised at all," said Vincent.   
"What?"   
"Hojo's cloning experiments were extensive. Obviously, either the Hojo we fought at the Sister Ray or the   
Hojo that Ashroth was talking to was a clone."   
"That makes sense," Elena agreed. "But anyway, the point is that they're going to make some sort of machine   
that repels Mako energy discharge- which would probably defend you from that maniac who looks like   
Sephiroth."   
"He is Sephiroth," Cloud muttered. "But nevermind. So, I guess that talking to Shinra won't help anymore,   
they've already got something."   
"We better attack them!" Reno said eagerly.   
"Again?" Yuffie's heart sank. Cloud had spent a whole half hour after their departure trying to convince her   
that she had done a good job at being the backup, but she still wasn't convinced.   
"Of course!" said Rude. "We weren't there the first time! We missed the fun!"   
"That's not really fair to Shinra I suppose... but then, they don't really need the machine like we do."   
"Not fair to Shinra?!" Barret yelled in disgust. "So what! You think what they're doin ta Corel is fair?! You   
think that company was founded on fairnes?! I say this is the best way to help bring them down!"   
"He has a point," Red agreed.   
"Allright," Cloud nodded. "Let's go for it."   
"Partners?" Elena extended a hand to him.   
"Partners," he nodded. He shook Elena's hand. The turks weren't really so bad afterall. In time, he could   
probably make friends with them.   
"I guess we have to stay in our suits for a while longer," Rude said dissapointedly.   
  
SHINRA HQ   
  
Hojo was very proud of himself. He had already done exactly what the Supreme General wanted! This would   
be an excellent way for him to elevate himself in Ashroth's eyes. All he had to do was say he had just made   
this after he had been asked, and it would appear he was many times as quick and intelligent as he was. It   
was this sort of a cleverness that made it so he actually sort of was many times as quick and intelligent as he   
was, in a strange way. He picked up the device and decided he had better test it. The best thing was that it   
didn't even need a power source- the combination of chemicals inside it repelled Mako discharge like   
opposite magnets.   
He looked around to make sure no one was watching, then stretched out his arm and allowed it to mutate into   
a long, disgusting tentacle. "Ultima!" he yelled. The blast of Ultima did not even touch the machine, although   
it was aimed straight at it. Instead, it hit the wall, blowing a hole in it that connected to the women's locker   
room. Fortunately, no one was inside. That gave Hojo an idea. Snickering at his cleverness, he pulled out his   
large one-way mirror and quickly attatched it to the wall, covering up the hole and making it appear from   
inside the locker room that they had just installed a new mirror there. He then put up a movable blackboard   
with some fake scientific calculations on it over the hole on his end. He snickered at his cleverness and then   
picked up the machine to take up to Ashroth. He'd been searching for a use for that one-way mirror for a   
while...   
The soldiers outside Ashroth's office looked awfully silly, since the door was now one of three different   
entrances into the room thanks to the attack. They didn't ask Hojo to identify himself as he walked through   
the gaping hole in the wall next to the doorway- they knew who he was, and had been in enough trouble for   
not knowing it before.   
"Hojo," the Supreme General greeted him, "Was there any particular reason why you felt you had to walk   
through the hole in the wall instead of the door?"   
"My apolagies," Hojo said exquisitly, "It amuses my immature mind."   
"I see. Do something like that again and you're fired. Not only that, but we'll take everything you own and   
burn it and make sure you never conduct a scientific experiment again."   
This amount of ferocity startled even Hojo. He wouldn't have been surprised at Ashroth's reaction if it were a   
lowly soldier who had commited the offense, but he was one of Ashroth's most valuable assets. Obviously,   
the man had very low tolerance. He probably would have shot a less important individual in this situation.   
Not that it would matter to Hojo if he were shot, but...   
"Well, sir, I completed the invention you wanted," Hojo grinned.   
"Yes, a month ago, wasn't it? I was actually expecting you to deliver it to me sooner. Let's have a look." He   
hadn't made eye contact with Hojo once this whole time. He hadn't even looked in his general direction,   
simply staring down at some paper he was dabbing at with a pen on his desk.   
Hojo really hated Ashroth at this point, but telling himself his job was at stake, he handed the device over to   
the Supreme General, who still would not even look up at him.   
"How does it work?"   
"It mixes the chemicals inside it in just the right way that Mako discharge bounces away from them far before   
it gets near it. I haven't figured out why yet, I think it has to do with the fact that Mako isn't on our plain of   
existance. Anyway, all you have to do is shake it, and it repels Mako for the next 24 hours."   
"Interesting. Good job, Hojo. I want these installed all over the base with automatic, once-every-24-hours   
shaking machines or something so we don't have to worry about that."   
"That will be up the engineers, I believe."   
"No, that will be up to you, I believe. The engineers have enough on their hands trying to rebuild this base."   
"Understood."   
"You may leave my presence now."   
"Yes sir."   
Hojo left. Someday he would have to get back at that man.   
  
SLIGHTLY NORTH OF SHINRA HQ   
  
"I made you say underwear!" Reno gloated as the deadly effects of his joke sank in on Rude.   
"That's a stupid joke," Rude said defensively.   
"Hey Elena!" yelled Reno. "I made Rude say underwear!"   
"Cool," said Elena. She was obsorbed in her thoughts about what had happened in the last few hours, and   
didn't really want to hear about it.   
"Hey, Reno," said Rude. "After everything I say, say 'pea-green soup', okay?"   
"Okay," shrugged Reno. Cloud almost laughed as he brainlessly followed along.   
Cloud saw Shinra HQ begin to approach in the distance. He slammed on the brakes of the buggy and   
announced to everyone that they were there. They all jumped out, while Rude laughed at Reno for saying   
that he had peed green soup all night.   
"Okay, guys, let's get this organized," Cloud said loudly. "Who wants to be the leader this time?"   
Reno and Rude both raised their hands, but everybody else pointed at Cloud. Cloud cursed and then said,   
"Okay, well if you don't want any variety. Allright, what we need to do here is find the device and take it.   
That's not going to work if we go barging in there because we'll never figure out what to take. So what we   
need to do is get someone on the inside." He turned and looked at the turks.   
"What? We quit!" Reno said indignantly.   
"They don't know that yet," Tifa smiled at them.   
Reno grumbled and crossed his arms.   
"Come on, you two! This is exciting!" Elena encouraged them. "We're finally striking back at Ashroth for   
making a joke out of us!"   
"Good point," Reno agreed.   
"Allright!" Rude said enthuisiastically. "Let's get going!"   
"Here," Cloud said as he gave them the PHS. "Call us if you get in trouble, and we'll create a diversion. What   
we want you to do is find out what the device is, not take it. Remember that."   
"Right," Elena acknowledged. The turks strolled toward Shinra HQ, feeling really good about themselves.   
  
The guard seemed a bit suspicious when Elena asked him where professor Hojo was. The turks had never   
had any business with Hojo. But, he knew better than to talk back, and directed them to the laboratory. Elena   
was starting to get a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. She pressed on, hoping that it was just her mind   
getting worked up. Afterall, Hojo had always scared her a little. Maybe she just didn't want to talk to him, and   
her subconciousness was blowing it out of proportion.   
They walked straight into the laboratory without knocking. "We need one of the devices that repels Mako   
discharge," Elena announced bluntly. It was strange, but Elena felt great doing this. This was how the turks   
were supposed to be. Surprisingly, Reno and Rude were their old selves again, standing menacingly behind   
her with their arms folded across their chests. It was just like how things had been under President Shinra   
and his son Rufus, only this time they were working against Shinra.   
Hojo looked at them with an amused expression. "I'm afraid there's only one," he shrugged, "And you can't   
have it."   
"Let me see," Elena demanded.   
Hojo shrugged. He picked up the device and held it out in front of him.   
"How does it work?" Elena asked in a businesslike fashion.   
"You shake it, and it mixes the chemicals inside in a way that causes them to repel Mako discharge for the   
next 24 hours," Hojo explained. "Why would you be interested?"   
"It's not for your ears," Elena said stiffly, then turned on her heel and left, followed by Reno and Rude. As   
soon as they were out of earshot, Hojo turned to his intercom and pressed a button. "They just left, Sir," he   
told the person on the other end.   
"Good," Ashroth replied. "You showed them the bomb?"   
"I did," Hojo acknowledged.   
"Good. This ought to get AVALANCHE out of my way once and for all. Now leave me alone."   
"Yessir." Hojo let go of the button and snickered at the clever plan he had just put into motion. All his   
enemies would soon be getting some unpleasant surprises.   
Colonal Jeraz walked fearfully toward Supreme General Ashroth's office. He was going to have to give the   
Supreme General some bad news, and Ashroth was known not to take to bad news very well.   
"What is it, Colonel?" Ashroth asked as Jeraz entered the room. He didn't look up at him.   
"Well, sir, I'm afraid I have some unfortunate news."   
Ashroth leaned back in his chair, away from the paperwork he was going to do, as though he was about to   
look at Jeraz in anger- but instead, he still just stared at his desk.   
"Really," he asked in a menacing tone. "And what would that be?"   
"Well," Jeraz began, "It appears AVALANCHE is still alive and active."   
"I see," Ashroth mused. "You needn't be afraid, Colonel. It's Hojo's incompetence that caused this. You are   
dismissed."   
"Yes sir,' Jeraz nodded, and walked out. One of these days, he felt he'd be killed when he went in there, and   
he didn't want it to be soon.   
Back inside his office, Ashroth clicked a button on his intercom. "Hojo," he said menacingly, "I need to   
speak with you."   
  
  
  
The turks came walking casually out of the building. "Looks like everything went smoothly," Cloud   
announced to everyone after peeking around a rock. They waited a bit longer, and then the turks showed up.   
Elena carefully explained what the device Hojo had shown her looked like.   
"Allright," Cloud brought everyone to attention. "We're going to do it the opposite way this time. One force   
does the fake main attack to attract attention, then three of us go in from the sides to steal the device. I want   
the turks to stay behind."   
"What?!" Elena yelled indignantly. "Why?!"   
"You're still a valuable asset," Cloud explained. "Shinra still doesn't know you quit. We want to preserve that   
advantage as long as possible, just in case."   
Elena grumbled a little, but realized he was right. Reno and Rude didn't seem to care. They were whispering   
about something.   
"Allright," Cloud mused. "We're going to have the same positions, so me, Barret, and Tifa will make an   
attack, while the others take their positions to come in from different directions and try to find the device.   
Red, you can take the western attack, since no one was there last time."   
Everybody nodded, and once again took their assigned Materia. Red got two Summon Materia since the   
most powerful ones had been taken- he equipped himself with the ultra-powerful duo of Alexander and   
Kujata. Everyone also took their one Magic Materia for close-quarters fighting.   
Cloud, Tifa, and Barret waited for Red to phone in and tell them he was in position. Since his journey was the   
farthest, they figured when Red was ready, everyone would be.   
Finally, the PHS rang, and Red confirmed that the attack could begin.   
"Let's go, guys," Cloud nodded, and they charged down in the buggy. Barret leaned out the window and   
cast Odin to begin their assault. The tremendous horse and rider swept through the ranks of the guards that   
came out to meet them, swinging his tremendous sword and slashing them to ribbons. Cloud tried not to look   
at the grisly scene as he cast Quake 3 and sent the bodies of the guards hurling through the air. Tifa leaned   
out the window and used All-Enemies to smack down a row of guards. By now, most of the remaining guards   
had fled to seek reinforcements. They jumped out of the buggy, and started casting spells to destroy the area   
around them. It wasn't long before there were guards swarming everywhere, and they even started to have   
trouble keeping them at bay. Strangely, though, the guards sometimes seemed to botch shots that should   
have been overly easy. Cloud began to suspect something.   
He suddenly saw the awesome power of the summons that the side-attackers used rear up from all sides. It   
went as before, except for two great additions: First Kujata reared up, and attacks of lightning, fire, and ice   
spread across the base, short-cuircuting machinery, tearing apart rafters and structures, and rendering   
halways impassible with icey blocks. Next, in his place, sprang the mighty Alexander, whose firey weapons   
of justice spread over the base, absolutely obliterating everything in the path of the awesome fire's   
consuming wrath. At the end, a great hole opened in the ground, and a huge chunk of the base fell into its   
steaming depths, only to be crushed as the earth closed in upon it.   
The four of them charged into the base, meeting almost no resistance since most of the soldiers were   
concentrating on the first attackers. It wasn't long before Red XIII ran into Cait Sith, holding the device in his   
jaws. "Great, Red!" Cait exclaimed. Since Red's jaws were full, he radioed the others to tell them to get out.   
Cloud got the message. "Allright, guys, we're outa here!" he said. They began to work their way back to the   
buggy, though the guards didn't make it easy for them.   
Meanwhile, the four attackers all left through the north exit of the base. Cid was busy examining the machine.   
  
"There's somethin funny about this device," Cid mused.   
"Wait a second," Cait said suspiciously. Everyone stopped. "Just what's funny?"   
"I dunno," Cid shrugged. "There's somethin fishy, though."   
"What if it's a fake... or a trap... or a bomb or something?" Cait asked worriedly.   
"Well, if it's a bomb, there'll probably be a ticking," Vincent shrugged. He took it from Cid and listened.   
"Nothing."   
"That won't tell ya everything," Cid shook his head. "They have way of makin em silent. Plus it could be set   
to go off when somethin happenes, fer example when ya shake it."   
"Is there any way to find out?" Red asked.   
"I'll have to open it up," Cid shrugged. He took out a screwdriver and began to undo the screws.   
"Work while we move," Vincent suggested. "We need to get out of here before Shinra comes looking for   
us."   
"How do you know so much about this, Cid?" Cait Sith asked as they walked.   
"I know some stuff about machines. Happen to of learned a lot about bombs... well I took a lotta machinery   
courses and stuff. Just somethin that's always interested me." He took out the last screw and looked inside.   
"Nothin but wierd green ooze," he shrugged.   
"So you're sure it's not a fake," Cait Sith confirmed.   
"Well, all I know is it ain't a trap. I dunno if it works."   
"We better find out, then," Cait Sith decided. "Give it to me."   
"Nah it's okay," Cid shrugged. "I can handle it if it doesn't work... just use somethin small."   
"No, it's better this way, because I'm just a stuffed animal," Cait Sith reminded him.   
"Oh yeah," Cid recalled. He gave the small machine to Cait, who shook it vigorously. Red cast Fire 1 on him-   
only it missed and lit a tree next to him on fire.   
"Put it out!" Cait yelled, but not two seconds later Vincent had quelled the fire by covering it in ice with a   
well-aimed Ice2.   
"Okay, it works," Vincent nodded. "Now let's get out of here."   
  
Cloud, Tifa, and Barret finally made their retreat successfully. It almost seemed too easy. Cloud hoped   
nothing was wrong.   
They rondevoused a little bit east of the ruins of Midgar, and Cloud called everyone to a meeting.   
"Okay," he began, "So we know this thing works, right?"   
"Yep," Cait Sith affirmed.   
"Good. Now, did anyone notice anything-" he was cut off as Vincent jumped up, pointing at the sky with his   
clawed hand. "Sepheros has found us," he announced in his cold, gentle manner, but yelling nonetheless.   
Cloud grabbed the machine and shook it a few times. "Everybody get in a small group around the machine,"   
he ordered. "We don't know how far its protection ranges." They did as he asked, and Sepheros floated   
down near their small group.   
"What is this?" he asked suspiciously. "Your strategy seems a bit less than prudent."   
"It's more prudent than you think, Sephiroth," Cloud said quietly. He knew that this wasn't exactly Sephiroth,   
but the part he wanted to kill was Sephiroth, the part that he hated.   
Sepheros narrowed his eyes, staring unwaveringly into Cloud's. "You didn't call me that out of ignorance,"   
he stated, more a question than a comment.   
"No," Cloud answered firmly. "I don't care about the rest of you."   
"I remember you," Sepheros said in reply. "You're Sephiroth's worst enemy, the one who defeated him. That   
means you're my greatest enemy, too, for I am Sephiroth. And now, I will destroy you, and avenge him." And   
he began to charge. Cloud realized that he was charging not three, not four, but five Ultimas. Five. Cloud   
wondered how many he could fire at a time. Cloud resisted the urge to tightly shut his eyes as the mighty   
spells were unleashed. He must stand tall.   
The five awesome spells went flying every which way. The area around the companions was absolutely and   
totally destroyed. Everything obliterated. Fortunately, civilization was miles away. Sepheros stared in   
disbelieving fury at the companions just sitting there, invincible against his magic.   
"Allright," he said, collecting himself in an instant. "That's an interesting trick." He unsheathed his   
Murasame. "I may have to do this the old-fashioned way."   
"Not today," Cloud shook his head. "I won't do that until I'm more firmly protected from your magic. Until   
then, I've got some knights for you to play with instead, they should give you a nice sword fight if that's   
what you're looking for." And with that, he raised the Ultima Weapon high and cast Knights of the Round,   
enhanced by Quadra Magic. Before Sepheros could escape, the knights were upon him. The companions   
retreated as Sepheros was helplessly smacked around. It was time to find out just how useful this machine   
could be.   
  
  
  
MIDGAR PLAINS, A LITTLE NORTH OF MIDGAR RUINS   
  
Aers Majorik's new assistant was a mixed bag. While on the one hand he was extremely capable at what he   
was hired for- fending off the annoying Shinra types- he was also rather difficult to deal with sometimes,   
always acting in upredicable ways and reacting in odd ways to almost everything that happened. He was like   
a six-year-old in the body of a man. Needless to say, Aers didn't get along with him too well, but he put up   
with him anyway because his services were invaluable.   
He had just risen on an early Monday morning and strolled out to the porch to get some fresh air. After   
putting fresh food in his bird feeder, he sat down on his wooden chair and looked out over the Midgar   
Plains, his eyes every now and then stopping on the old ruins of the once-great "capital of the world",   
Midgar, and every time he smiled at the welcome sight. He knew Shinra was still around, but he didn't really   
care as long as that bleak, ugly Midgar wasn't there anymore.   
Then, coming from a bit south of the ruins, he saw a small red speck moving closer to him on the horizon. It   
couldn't be a monster, it's path was too straight, it had to be some sort of vehicle- and it was heading right for   
his small, out-of-the-way home.   
"Hey, Dar' Tos, come on down here, I think there's Shinras comin' here again!" he yelled to his assistant.   
Since the man was clearly Taian, Aers knew that "Dar' Tos" was definately not his real name, but he humored   
the man.   
Dar' Tos leapt down from the roof, which he made his living area, even in the rain. He swung his gatling gun   
out in front of him and rested it on the small fence surrounding the porch.   
"It's time ta KICK SOME ASS!" he shouted extravagantly. Aers rolled his eyes.   
As the vehicle drew closer, Dar' Tos began to open fire on it. It was a tough vehicle and the bullets simply   
bounced off, but Dar' Tos was not one to give up, and he continued to fire.   
Back in the buggy, Cloud was puzzled. "Why are we being shot at?" he asked.   
"Couldn't tell ya," Barret shrugged, "But we better git the punk who's doin that."   
Cloud nodded, and leaned out the window.   
"Careful, Cloud!" Tifa cautioned. "Let me do it!" she leaned out her window. Cloud was going to tell her not   
to, but by now he was within sight of the guy doing the shooting, so he aimed a good blast of Lightning3.   
Just as he released it, he heard Tifa gasp and then shout, "Stop Cloud, don't!" but it was too late, he had   
already fired the spell. His aim was true, and it struck the man at the gatling gun, sending him flying back into   
the house through a window.   
"Oh no no no no no," Tifa muttered on the verge of tears, and jumped out of the buggy as Cloud parked it   
next to the house.   
"Tifa, what is it?!" Cloud yelled after her, but she ignored him and ran to the house.   
"We surrendur!" Aers said with his hands on his head as Tifa rushed passed him, but she didn't even glance   
in his direction. The others walked curiously toward the small house.   
"You don't look like Shinra types," Aers said, scratching his head.   
"We're not," Cloud nodded, and then heard someone yell, "Tifa?!!" from inside the house, followed by a   
resounding crash. Everybody stood and waited. Thirty seconds later Tifa came through the doorway with a   
young, Taian man using her for support. He wore an old hanky on his head, baggy brown pants, and a silk   
jacked that covered little more than his arms. He was tall, well-built, and a katana rested at his side.   
"Oh no," Barret groaned and sank the ground. Cloud looked at him questioningly.   
"Okay," said the Taian man, "Who's the bastard that used magic on me?"   
"I am," Cloud said raising his hand, "And I think I had a right to, seeing as you were shooting at us."   
"It was just a misunderstanding," Tifa told them both like a mother. "Now, I'd like to introduce you all to an   
old friend of mine and Barret's. His name is Hanshi."   
"I knew that your name wasn't Dar' Tos," Aers muttered.   
"Yo," said Hanshi.   
You need to rest," Tifa told him, and took him inside. She lay him down on the couch and then came back   
outside to meet everybody.   
"Who is he?" Red asked curiously.   
"It's a long story," Tifa said with a sigh. "You're sure you want to hear it?"   
They all nodded. "I do, too," said Aers.   
"If he calls me Barry just once, I will-" Barret began, but Tifa fixed him with a dangerous expression that shut   
him up.   
"Okay, everybody sit down," Tifa instruced. So they all gathered on Aers's porch, and she and Barret   
recalled the story of how they had met up with Hanshi while trying to help Kylos Viper prove his innocence   
years ago in Midgar. [Please refer to "Seventh Heaven, Sector 7" by Maniac to read this story yourself, if   
you haven't already]. By the time it was over, Cid was grinning maliciously at Barret and had already called   
him "Berry" several times.   
"I never knew he was a criminal," Aers muttered.   
"Why's he here?" Tifa inquired.   
"I hired him to protect me from Shinras," Aers shrugged. "He was a mercenary."   
Tifa glanced up at Cloud, probably without meaning to. He smiled.   
"So," Aers changed the subject, "What brings you people here, anyway?"   
"We dunno," Barret shrugged. "Cloud wanted ta ask ya somethin."   
Cloud nodded. "Zack Taren told me to come here if I ever needed something made for me," he told Aers   
directly.   
Aers looked up sharply, his eyes showing deep sorrow. "You know Zack?"   
"I..." Cloud hadn't realized it would be this important to the old man. And it seemed that he thought Zack was   
still alive, too, which would make it even harder to do this.   
"Where is Zack?" Aers asked.   
"Oh shit," Cloud shook his head. "I... thought you'd already know... Zack... is... well..."   
"I see," Aers nodded. Cloud thankfully nodded back, glad he didn't have to say it. "I thought it might be that   
way. You were a friend of his?"   
Cloud nodded. "I was a guard for Shinra while he was in SOLDIER. We worked together."   
"Allright," Aers sighed, "Well whatever ya need, I'll see what I can do for ya."   
"I'm gonna go check on Hanshi," Tifa interjected, and went back inside.   
"We need you to make copies of this that we can slip around our wrists, or something like that," Cloud said   
to Aers, handing him the anti-Mako device. "You'll have to open it to see what it really is."   
Aers took a screwdriver out of his pocket and carefully opened up the machine. "Chemicals," he mused. "I   
see. I can make you what you want, but you gotta bring me the chemicals. I'll write you up a list and you can   
go to Kalm and buy them."   
Cloud nodded. That should be fine. He just prayed that Sepheros would not find them while they were   
engaged in this activity.   
  
Cid offered to go pick up the chemicals they needed and declined to have any accompanyment. He said he   
also wanted to take care of something else in Kalm that was a hush-hush deal for now, so everyone just let   
him go. Aers invited them inside for a drink, and Tifa began to whip up one of her special customs for   
everyone.   
"I really appreciate what you're doing, Mr. Majorik," Cloud commented as he sat down.   
Aers waved his hand in a gesture of nonchalance. "Call me Aers. A friend of Zack's is a friend of mine."   
"Aers..." Cloud mused.   
"What?"   
Cloud looked at him questioningly for a moment, then realized he was expecting a question. "Oh," Cloud   
shook his head, "I was just thinking about the name. It's the male version of Aeris, isn't it?"   
Aers nodded. "You knew Zack's old girlfriend?"   
Cloud's heart stung, and he didn't answer. Aers seemed to notice how he bent his head downward a bit and   
didn't say anything else about the matter. There was a breif uncomfortable silence.   
"So..." Tifa broke the silence. "What's your relation to Zack, Aers?"   
Aers sighed for a moment. "The kid was my little bro," he said sadly.   
Everyone was a little startled. Aers looked over forty years old. Aers seemed to sense it. "I'm a lot younger   
than I look," he smiled. "I'm a little worn out. I was a first-class SOLDIER member, you know."   
"Just like Zack," Cloud mumbled.   
Aers nodded. "I was a role-model to him. I hate myself for the path I led him down. Shinra... damn the souls   
of those self-centered bastards. Zack's death is just one more reason for me to hate them."   
Cloud noticed that Barret sat up and payed more attention after that, and would have been amused had the   
conversation been lighter.   
"Why do you hate Shinra with such passion?" asked Red.   
Aers smiled. "Yer a funny lookin thing," he remarked.   
"My species is... very rare these days," Red admitted.   
"I'll say. Well, anyway, they've really trampled on my life. When I was a boy, I was pretty wimpy. I was   
always gettin into fights, but never winnin em. So I looked up to strong people. One of the strongest figures   
in my life was the legend of SOLDIER, Sephiroth. What a big mistake that was."   
Cloud felt a strange pang as he heard those words. It was not a pain, it wasn't a sadness; it was actually a   
good feeling, a feeling that there was someone who shared his childhood plight. The others glanced at him   
strangely as Aers told his story. Cloud barely paid attention to their glances, he was too busy reminiscing.   
"Anyway," Aers continued, "I wanted nothing more than to get into SOLDIER. So I went to try out. But I   
was afraid of being weak... so before I went, I ran out into the world to live in the wild and fight the monsters   
until I felt I was strong enough to be in SOLDIER. Somehow, I survived, and I really did grow strong. Very   
strong, actually. And so I did get into SOLDIER- and hell I was proud. What a little fool I was back then."   
This was where the story began to differ from Cloud's. He wondered how his life would have been different if   
he actually had gotten into SOLDIER. Back then, he would have been thrilled, but now he was glad he never   
made it. If he had, this world probably would have been destroyed by Meteor.   
"Well, Zack wanted to join SOLDIER too, when he heard I did. And he did join. So there we were, two perfect   
little SOLDIER members. Both first-class too. We were the best of friends. So happy with life. Then it all   
changed. I was taking a tour of Shinra headquarters, which I thought was very cool at the time, and they   
were telling me about how Mako was produced. That was when I realized that the use of Mako was wrong. It   
was destroying this planet. I tried to talk to the authorities about it, but they didn't want to hear it, and before   
I knew it I had been thrown in the front lines of a hideous battle against a rebellion in some town. I survived,   
but barely. Left me wounded for life, and definately not able to fight anymore. Still feel it today. Bad back,   
knee, and hip, crippled like an old man at the age of twenty-nine. Well, needless to say, I quit SOLDIER after   
that. Zack and I had a huge fight about it. He was only sixteen at the time, but SOLDIER meant everything to   
him, and if I wasn't there, it wouldn't be the same. I tried to convince him that Shinra was evil, that they were   
destroying the Planet, but he wouldn't listen to me. The last time I talked to him, he was excited about going   
somewhere on an asignment with the legendary Sephiroth. I remembered when I used to look up to   
Sephiroth. I hated him then. I was glad when he dissapeared. But I sure wasn't glad that Zack dissapeared.   
Guess I'll never see him again. Well, I'm sorry about that, I been ramblin."   
Everyone was silent. The sad story offered yet another insight into the epic history of Cloud, Zack,   
Sephiroth, and SOLDIER. They finished their drinks in solemn quiet.   
  
  
Cid returned an hour later, only to find everyone quiet and reserved. Cloud especially was in a bad mood. He   
shrugged, and offered Aers the chemicals, who began to get to work on the bracelets that would defend   
them from Sepheros.   
Cloud walked slowly outside after a while, and sat back down on the porch. He didn't feel so great. All his old   
memories were springing up again, paining him. He had lost so much of his life to Shinra. There were so many   
people whose lives they had turned rotten... and they were still doing it.   
"Man, why's everybody all depressed?" asked an irritated voice from behind him. Cloud turned and saw the   
man that Tifa had previously identified as Hanshi walk onto the porch and sit on the steps next to him.   
Cloud sighed and took a bit to respond. "The history of your employer ties in strongly with my own, and that   
of all my old friends somehow or other- more strongly for some than others."   
"I still don't get why you're depressed," Hanshi shrugged. "That's the past, it's not like that anymore." He   
was really being sincere. Completely puzzled. Cloud was amazed at how purely optimistic he was.   
"What's your history?" Cloud asked on a whim.   
Hanshi snorted. "I don't know and I don't care. I'm an orphan. I was raised by a bunch of thieves. I've always   
been a thief, always will be. I like it that way."   
"You'd get along well with Yuffie," Cloud said with a smile.   
"A chick?" Hanshi's eyes brightened.   
Cloud laughed. "Don't go getting any ideas," he cautioned. "She's only seventeen. Besides, you might find   
her more trouble than she's worth."   
"Not for old Hanshi. Nothin's trouble for me." He said it so sternly that Cloud almost believed him.   
"How'd you learn to use that katana?" Cloud changed the subject, noting Hanshi's weapon. "What style to   
you use?"   
"Well... I was raised by Taian thieves. What else would they have taught me? As for style, I ain't got a clue, I   
just use it like they taught me."   
"Interesting," Cloud mused. He would always be interested in swordplay.   
Tifa came out onto the porch. "Oh," she said with a bit of surprise and a bit of happiness, "I see you two are   
meeting eachother."   
"Cloud asks technical questions," Hanshi remarked critically, but with a big stupid grin.   
"Hanshi replies like an idiot," Cloud remarked back. Tifa smiled. She could see they were getting along well.   
"It's really amazing that we met up again after all this time," Tifa thought out loud.   
"Well, we did promise we'd see eachother again," Hanshi pointed out. "I'm even glad to see ol' Berry again."   
"He's glad to see you, too, though he won't admit it," Tifa laughed.   
"So, replaced Kylos yet?" Hanshi asked in an offhand manner. Cloud gave him a smoldering look, and he   
responded with a clueless one.   
"Umm... no," Tifa mumbled.   
It was then that Aers called them all back into the house to get their protective bracelets.   
"Now, the cool thing about these little gadgets," Aers explained with pride, "Is that they don't need to be   
shaken. Your regular movement should be enough to keep the chemicals mixed all the time."   
"Great," Cloud congradulated him. "Could you write up blueprints, in case we need to make more?"   
"No problem," Aers nodded. He quickly scribbled some instructions on a piece of paper.   
"You've been incredibly helpful," Cloud shook Aers hand. "I hope we meet up again sometime, but we really   
need to get going. We wouldn't want to put you in danger, and unfortunately we're being hunted right now."   
  
Aers nodded. "Drop by any time," he invited.   
"I'm coming with them," Hanshi announced out of nowhere.   
Everyone looked over at him, slightly startled, but then, not so much. Tifa seemed happy about it. Barret   
grumbled a little.   
"You sure?" Aers asked.   
"Yep," Hanshi nodded.   
"Here," Aers tossed him a braclet. "I made a few extra for you guys. Partly because I knew he'd do that."   
Cloud smiled a little, shook Aers's hand, and turned to his companions. "Okay, gang, let's go," he said, and   
they went.   
  
SHINRA HQ, ABOUT THE SAME TIME   
  
Syphe Techro had been summoned to Supreme General Ashroth's office, and was a little uneasy. It wasn't   
often that you went to the general's office, and when you did, ninety percent of the time it was for a bad   
reason.   
He walked nervously through the long, constantly turning corridors of the makeshift Shinra HQ, which was   
heavily damaged. Syphe never felt safe in this place. It was like the roof could fall on him any minute. He   
always wanted to hold his breath when he walked through these corridors.   
He reached the general's office and, at the nod of the guards, he walked through the dual oak doors that led   
into the room- a silly thing to do in Syphe's opinion, since there were three unintentional entrances available   
to him before he reached the doors. Still, Syphe had heard the rumors of what happened to people who didn't   
use the doors, and decided not to take any risks.   
Ashroth made no indication that he knew Syphe was there, and at first he thought he didn't at all. But   
Ashroth quickly said, "Welcome, Mr. Techro, please have a seat." He still didn't look at Syphe, though.   
Syphe sat down. Ashroth immediately hit him with a question: "How far did you get in the reconstruction of   
Midgar?"   
"We were almost ready to start seriously re-laying the important buildings," Syphe answered thruthfully.   
"I see. Then I don't think it's worth trying the project again, especially since something like that explosion   
might happen again. Instead, I want everything moved to Mideel. We're making that our new base of   
operations. We will tear down Mideel and in its place construct Midgar 2. The LifeStream is very abundant   
there, and we'll be able to generate a lot of Mako."   
Syphe really had a problem with that. He hadn't liked it when Shinra had taken Mideel, and now they were   
going to destroy it and the homes of everyone who lived there.   
"Sir-" he began to object.   
"Was there something else, Mr. Techro?" Ashroth asked with an edge in his voice.   
Syphe struggled to object. He couldn't do it. He sighed internally at his weakness and said, "No, sir."   
"Dismissed," Ashroth said decisively.   
Syphe wordlessly stood up and left. He went to give the orders. He hated himself.   
  
  
  
Cloud stood at his favorite place on the chocobo farm, the high deck overlooking the vast Midgar Plains,   
facing toward the east so that he could always watch the sunset. There was a light breeze this evening,   
which comforted Cloud's tired body and helped ease the discomfort of wearing his old mercenary outfit. He   
had been used to the suit's feel for what seemed like his whole life, but now that he had gotten out of the   
habit of wearing it, it was like getting used to it all over again. He sighed deeply as he pondered the recent   
momentus events.   
He heard soft footsteps behind him, and something deep in his mind told him indesputably that it was Tifa.   
He was right. She came and stood next to him. "Strange things," she said quietly. The mood was mutual.   
Cloud knew she was talking about the chaos that had erupted in the world recently.   
Cloud nodded. "I thought we were done. Now it's like everything we did was just undone, and never   
happened. Sometimes I wonder if it's still worth fighting... or if I should just let it go. We've all already done   
more than our share."   
"If we don't fight, who will?" Tifa asked wisely.   
"I know," Cloud agreed. "But it just doesn't seem fair. If only we could be done with it. Sometimes I wonder if   
we were destined to fight our whole lives. I wonder if that's the way it is."   
"Destiny doesn't exist," Tifa said firmly. "I'm sure of that. It's one of the few things I'm sure of now."   
Cloud was sort of comforted by her assurances. He knew he believed it too. It just seemed like something   
was holding onto him and not letting him live without having to fight.   
"Maybe someday... this will be done..."   
  
The next day, Cloud called everyone together. He had been thinking last night, and he was sure of what they   
should do now.   
"I know what we need to do," Cloud told everyone when they were assembled. "We have to make one more   
final strike against Shinra. We have to end them here and now, or they'll haunt us forever. We have to   
destroy everything they have left if we ever want the world to be free of them. Now is when they're weak. We   
should go ahead and end it."   
Tifa was looking at him with a sort of curious expression on her face, he noticed. He wondered if she was   
thinking that he was acting strange. He wished he was perceptive, like she was. She seemed to be able to   
read people's faces amazingly well sometimes.   
"I like it," Barret said with a grin. He clapped Cloud on the shoulder. "I'm glad somebody else thinks we gotta   
end 'em too! Let's do this!"   
"We can't just throw all precaution into the wind," Red XIII argued. "I don't think such haste would be wise.   
We would be better off trying to take a strategic appraoch- for example, cut off their resources, then let them   
die out themselves. People don't have to die that way."   
"It's too risky," Cloud shook his head. "We don't know exactly what resources Shinra has. It would be better   
to take them out once and for all."   
"You've got something else in this," said Vincent. "You've got a driving motive. You want to get rid of Shinra   
at this point in time especially. Why?"   
Cloud was startled. He had thought Tifa was perceptive; Vincent was obviously even more so. The firmness   
with which he stated Cloud's feelings was shocking, especially since he was right.   
Cloud sighed deeply, and figured he may as well explain what was on his mind. "We're never going to see the   
end of fighting if we don't end Shinra," he said quietly. "I want to be done with it all. I don't ever want to get   
into something like the Meteor incident again. I've had enough of that, my life is complete, and I don't want   
to do more."   
"We have a responsibility," Red said sympathetically. "I am the guardian of Cosmo Canyon, but I have come   
here to fulfill it. It is what we must do."   
"I know," Cloud agreed. "But I want it to be over as soon as possible."   
"What about that other Sephiroth guy?" Cid asked.   
"We'll be able to deal with him much better when we don't have Shinra to worry about at the same time,"   
Cloud reasoned.   
"But isn't Sepheros a greater threat?" Reeve asked through Cait Sith.   
"Yes, that's why we need to be able to concentrate on him without Shinra getting in the way," Cloud   
explained.   
"But what if Sepheros is in the way of getting rid of Shinra?" asked Cid.   
"Stop!" Tifa suddenly demanded, standing up from where she had been thinking solemnly the whole time.   
She turned to Cloud. "We made Cloud the leader. I trust him, and I always will. If we made him the leader, we   
better go by it."   
Cloud was a little startled by Tifa's intense feeling about it. She usually didn't get this caught up in such   
matters, even things such as Meteor. She was usually down to earth, thoughtful, and reserved. Such   
directness wasn't really like her. But then, everyone has their unseen sides.   
"She's right, of course," Red decided.   
Vincent nodded. "Guess so," Cid shrugged.   
"You're right," Cait Sith nodded.   
"This is confusing," said Hanshi.   
Cloud had forgotten Hanshi was there. He had been quietly regarding the argument without much interest.   
"Why?" asked Cloud.   
"Because, you people talk too much. Why don't you just go attack Shinra? It's that simple."   
"Well, we need to plan-"   
"Plan on the way," Hanshi scoffed. He got up and headed for the buggy. Cloud couldn't help but crack a   
smile at Hanshi's strangeness. Everything he did was amusing somehow or another.   
Yuffie giggled. "He's cute," she remarked, and was the first to follow Hanshi outside. It was time to put an   
end to the reign of Shinra once and for all.   
  
The buggy blazed across the Midgar Plains once again, this time for what Cloud hoped would be the last   
assault he'd ever have to make on Shinra HQ. He was getting rather tired of blowing apart this building.   
But something didn't seem right. There was no action in the base. Usually, as they approached, there were   
tanks and soldiers swarming around the area by the time they got close because the Shinra would pick them   
up on radar- but there was no one. Not even repair workers fixing the damage from the last attack.   
Cloud parked the buggy right next to the entrance to Shinra HQ, and everyone jumped out.   
"The hell's goin on?!" Barret yelled angrily. "They ain't even here!"   
"We don't know that for sure," Elena mused, as she approached the large, wide doors leading inside Shinra   
HQ. Cloud realized that she and the other turks had changed into more appropriate clothes for action. She   
was now wearing a short leather skirt similar to Tifa's and a black tank-top. Cloud hadn't ever really thought   
about it, but Elena was pretty attractive.   
Reno and Rude had changed too- but they didn't really get adventuring attire. Reno wore a light blue   
Hawaian-looking button-up shirt and baggy, loose-fitting jean shorts, and Rude looked ridiculous in his   
rambo-style outfit. Cloud almost laughed. The two of them seemed to have lost all trace of intelligence after   
being neglected by Supreme General Ashroth.   
But that wasn't the first thing on Cloud's mind, and he turned his attention back to the Shinra base.   
"It's deserted," Hanshi shrugged. "We'll have to go home and wait to find out where their new base is."   
Cloud shook his head. "We're going to investigate first. Come on." He lead the way inside the base, and,   
weapons at the ready, the companions began a search of the building. There was nothing. Not a single life   
form to be found other than the spiders that had built massive webs across the abandoned hallways. Cloud   
wondered how long the building had been like this.   
The companions eventually split up, and Cloud wandered into a portion of the building that was not lit. He   
was forced to continually cast fire spells in order to see. He searched everywhere for some sort of torch to   
light, but of course the Shinra didn't use torches.   
Finally, he came into a room with large oak doors leading into it. Cloud chopped a chunk off with the Ultima   
Weapon and lit it on fire. It was good enough.   
He examined the dark room. There were light switches, but the power had apparently been cut off. There were   
filing cabinets all over the place, and lots of strange looking plethoras of wierd chemical-mixing equipment,   
pitri dishes, and other scientific perephinelia. He guessed it was probably Hojo's laboratory. Perhaps he   
could find something useful here.   
Cloud walked up to one of the filing cabinets and tried to open it, but it was locked shut. That wasn't a   
problem, however- he simply slashed the whole set of cabinets to pieces and searched the wreckage.   
Everything had been taken out. Nothing remained but empty folders.   
Cloud methodically went from cabinet to cabinet, hoping that something would have been missed. After half   
an hour of searching, he had found nothing, and had ransacked all the cabinets. Tired and frustrated he   
turned to leave, but saw Elena walking slowly through the doorway and looking around. He hadn't   
recognized her at first; he wasn't used to seeing her in clothes other than a posh suit.   
"You're making an aweful mess," she complained with disgust.   
"Sorry," Cloud shrugged. "The cabinets were locked. I think this is Hojo's lab, and I thought there might be   
something useful in them. Everything's been taken out, though."   
Elena nodded. "So you checked all of them?"   
' "Yep," Cloud confirmed. "There's nothing here. I was just about to leave."   
"What about that door?" Elena asked, pointing behind Cloud. Cloud turned around and saw that in the wall   
behind him was the faint outline of a door, exactly the same color as the wall. He scratched his head in   
puzzlement.   
"How'd you see that so quick?" he asked. The door was quite well camouflaged.   
"You have to be attentive to details when you're a turk," Elena smiled. She went up to the door. "It doesn't   
seem to have a knob," she mused. She gave it a push. Nothing. Cloud offered his help, but the door still   
wouldn't budge.   
"Damn," Elena muttered, completely exhausted. "How are you supposed to get that thing open?!"   
"Stand back," Cloud instructed. She quickly moved out of the way as Cloud raised the Ultima Weapon above   
his head and sent it crashing down against the door. Sparks flew as his blade made contact, but the door   
wasn't even dented.   
"Okay," he muttered under his breath. "You wanna be like that, we'll do this the hard way. Stand back   
further." Elena jumped out of the way.   
Cloud gathered a deep breath, and then yelled "Flare!" The power of Flare began to gather at the door, and   
when it had collected enough, the Flare exploded in a burst of bright, firey color. In the end, the door hadn't   
budged.   
Cloud yelled a very nasty curse at the top of his lungs, then screamed "Knights!" It was probably the only   
way. Everything around Cloud and Elena became blurry, fluxuating with many bright colors, and gigantic   
knights began to appear. Each one smashed his massive weapon against the door- and each on put a bit of a   
dent in it. After the twelfth knight had clashed with the door, it was almost smashed off its hinges. The final   
knight, Arthur, stood up, raising Excalibur above his head, and flung it with all his might against the door.   
Finally, the door broke off its hinges and crashed into the room, and the magic faded away.   
"Don't you ever do that to me again!" Elena screamed at Cloud.   
"Sorry," Cloud apolagized, "I was a little caught up in trying to break it down. But, now we've done that, so   
let's see what's in there."   
The two of them walked slowly out onto a large wooden platform in a small cave. It was lit here, so Cloud put   
out his torch by quickly casting Ice on it and then tossed the torch away. He and Elena examined their   
surroundings. Next to the platform, a monorail stretched out into a long tunnel, and on it sat a strange   
looking vehicle with rocked thrusters in the middle that faced both forwards and backwards. In fact, the   
whole thing was entirely symetrical, obviously intended to go backwards and forewards.   
"Shall we go?" asked Cloud.   
"Sure," Elena shrugged. They went up to the little pod-like vehicle and stepped inside. There were no   
seatbelts, so Cloud guessed it would probably not be a very fast ride. There was a lever in the center of the   
pod, which Cloud pulled as soon as the two of them were seated.   
The jolt was extreme. The afterburners on the vehicle flared up with the force of Ultima, sending the pod   
blazing along the track, going all the way from 0-130 MHP in the first second of its travel. Cloud and Elena   
were thrown painfully to the back of the pod and landed in a rumpled heap, Cloud on top of Elena.   
"Sorry," he mumbled, and got up. The ride was smooth now, so it felt like they weren't even moving.   
"Not your fault," Elena laughed.   
Cloud looked out the transparent top half of the pod. The walls were solid stone, not well chiseled, and were   
flying by at an extremely fast pace. About a minute later, the pod came to a screeching halt as the   
afterburners suddenly stopped flaring on the one side and started on the other, a very effective form of   
braking. The door opened automatically.   
Cloud and Elena stepped out onto another wooden platform in an area identical to the one where they had   
gotten on except that the rail ended on the opposite end of the room and stretched off backwards, so Cloud   
knew that they hadn't just gone in a big circle. There was another door here, clearly defined against the stone   
walls. It didn't have a knob either, but easily pushed open.   
What Cloud saw then startled him more than anything else he had seen in his life. Elena gasped and muttered   
a curse under her breath, and Cloud proceed towards the horrifying sight, half expecting that his death was   
imminent, but forced to investigate out of pure and extreme curiosity.   
Barret was getting grumpy. He was tired of mucking around in this old stupid base. He was sitting around on   
an old, empty safe when Cid, Vincent, Cait Sith, and Red walked in.   
"I'm sick a this," Cid muttered and slumped down next to Barret.   
"Me too," Barret agreed.   
"It does appear to be a somewhat futile search," Red admitted. "But it was not unwise to try."   
Tifa, Yuffie, Hanshi, Rude, and Reno then walked in after them. "This is really stupid," Hanshi complained.   
"I'm bored," Yuffie agreed.   
"I think it's about time to end the search," Tifa summed up. "Who's not here? I don't see Cloud... or Elena.   
That's it. I wonder where they are?"   
At that moment, Cloud and Elena came rushing into the room as though being chased.   
"Something's up!" Cloud exclaimed. "We found Hojo's lab... and a tunnel that lead all the way to a cave   
under Midgar!"   
"You walked all that way?!" Tifa asked in disbelief.   
"No, there was this vehicle on a rail that took you there really fast..." Elena explained.   
"And it was this big cloning laboratory... probably Hojo's! And you wouldn't believe what we found there!"   
"So what the hell is it?" Barret asked impatiently.   
"Sephiroth clones!" Cloud said excitedly. "Hundreds of them! All lined in rows up along one of the walls, in   
these big glass pods!"   
Elena nodded quietly, her eyes distant.   
"Who's Sephiroth?" asked Hanshi.   
"I'll explain later," Cloud brushed him off. "We found something else. Something interesting. The clone lab,   
not to mention Hojo's lab in this base, have been ransacked and all files were taken out- but they missed this   
one. It was under a desk."   
Elena took a little paper out of her pocket and read it aloud-   
________________________________________________________________________   
  
The Project is proceeding well. We are formulating plans, and soon, we should be strong enough to control   
the world. I am still trying to find a way to complete the side operation of the Project, though- getting behind   
my partner's back will not be easy. I will continue to update this information as I make progress.   
________________________________________________________________________   
  
"It ends there," Elena finished.   
"Wierd," Tifa mused.   
"Why doesn't he talk about anything directly in there?" Yuffie asked in annoyance.   
"In case someone finds it, just like us, probably," Elena shrugged.   
"Well, I say we get out of here. There's nothing more to do," Cait Sith suggested.   
"I guess not," Cloud agreed. "But there's still one place we didn't search: The roof. We need to look   
everywhere."   
"The roof?" Hanshi complained with disgust. "What the hell would be on the roof?"   
"Possibly clues as to why this base is abandoned," Red offered.   
"Let's just get it over with," Cid mumbled, and they got up and headed for the stairwell that led to the roof.   
Out on the wide, flat roof of Shinra HQ, they examined the area a bit, then started fanning out. The search   
was soon interrupted, however.   
"You!" yelled a voice from behind them. Everyone spun around, they're hands on their weapons. There,   
hovering a few feet above the ground, was Sepheros.   
"I see you've come to search the ruins of the base, just as I have," Sepheros said emotionlessly.   
"You didn't cause this?" Vincent asked in response.   
"Of course not," Sepheros shrugged. "They have shields that protect them from my power now. And you   
do, too. That's why I'll have to take you out the old fashioned way."   
Sepheros drew his Murasame and began to hover slowly towards the group. No one knew it except Sepheros   
and Cloud, but the focus was really on the two of them. Cloud hated Sephiroth the most, and Sepheros hated   
Cloud the most. The clash could only be between them.   
Cloud took the Ultima Weapon in both hands and held it up. "Stay out of it, guys," he ordered. It wasn't a   
suggestion, it was an order, and the most serious one he had ever given. No one said anything, but just   
stared in awe as he went to meet Sepheros.   
Sepheros settled to the ground. "A sword duel, then," he nodded.   
"En guarde," Cloud acknowledged, and without further ado, the two of them clashed.   
It was like the meeting of two tidal waves. Both extremely powerful and extremely skilled swordsmen, the two   
of them seemed invincible against eachother's heavy but precise slashes, like the fight was an impossible one   
to end. As the two mighty blades clashed, sparks flew through the air, sometimes coming far enough to land   
on the companions who sat and watched the cataclysmic duel in utter silence.   
Cloud blocked high, slashed low, was blocked, tried to kick Sepheros with his leg opposite his sword arm;   
Sepheros leapt back out of the way, thrusted at Cloud. The battle seemed to rage in favor of neither one, until   
Cloud suddenly leapt into the air, yelled, "Meteorain!" and showered burning rocks onto Sepheros. While   
this attack did little to harm him, Sepheros was momentarily stunned, and Cloud used it to his advantage,   
coming back with an onslaught of furious slashes that Sepheros was hard-pressed to block. Finally, Cloud   
disarmed his opponent, and sent him careening backwards with a well-aimed kick to the chin. Sepheros lay   
on the ground, looking up at his spikey-haired opponent. He was breathing heavily, his eyes burning, his   
fists clenched, his nostrils flaring, his body shaking.   
"AAAAAAHH!!!" Sepheros began to scream and then, like a rocket being fired from its launch pad, he shot   
into the sky, a blaze of green flames streaming from behind him as he flew.   
"Temper, temper," Hanshi muttered. No one had time to respond, though, as the earth began to shake. Blasts   
of green energy began to fly in every direction from where Sepheros hovered in the air; they would meet the   
ground and explode into huge energy reactions, and sent huge cracks crawling through the earth's crust,   
with rivers of LifeStream flowing through them. Shinra HQ began to collapse; the companions ran to the edge   
of the roof and leapt. Fortunately, it was not a particularly high building, and they landed safely.   
But Sepheros's rage continued to shatter the earth. Cracks were building everywhere, and the shaking of the   
earth began to separate the companions. It grew so intense that Cloud could no longer see where he was   
going, and he ran aimlessly, praying he could escape the tantrum. Finally, everything stopped. The earth was   
calm, Cloud's body no longer shook furiously, and he was able to collect himself. It took a minute to get used   
to not being vibrated so intensely that he was unable to see anything ahead of him.   
Cloud looked into the sky, and Sepheros was gone. Had he been killed? It was possible. Perhaps the tantrum   
had completely destroyed him because of its insane power... perhaps.   
He stood up and surveyed the surroundings, and realized what had happened. Facing north, there was a   
crack in front of him and to his right- blocking his path southward to the chocobo farm, and leaving the only   
available directions north and east.   
He turned around. Elena, Barret, and Reno were scattered nearby, and were recovering as well as he was.   
Across the gap in front of him stood Tifa, Hanshi, Yuffie, and Rude, who were collecting themselves. Cloud   
looked to his right and saw that Cid, Vincent, Red, and Cait Sith were all on that side, able to head north,   
south, or west, just not east- not towards the rest of their companions.   
Everyone came as close to the edge of the gaps as they could, right where all three met. "What are we going   
to do?!" Cloud shouted across.   
"You're the leader!" was the reply he got from several people simultaneously.   
"Just hold on a sec!" Cloud sat down and thought a bit, and then came up with a plan. He stood up again.   
"We'll go north to the coast!" he explained loudly. "I want the group who can go west to head for Junon! Get   
a ship there, and sail to the north coast, and pick us up! The other group, head east and see if you can find a   
way around this crack so you can come up north with us! Move out!" Everyone called back their agreement,   
and began to move.   
Cloud turned to his group. "Okay, guys," he said wearily, "Let's get moving."   
Sephiroth was in absolute bafflement. He didn't understand what had happend to Sepheros- the insane,   
uncontrollable flury of raw power had taken him completely by surprise. The problem was that Sepheros had   
personality traits that Sephiroth did not, such as a temper, and the ability to be amused- and Sephiroth   
understood that perfectly, because he was Sepheros. It was frustrating, feeling feelings that were not his   
own and yet came from him. It was a concept no mind in the universe other than Sephiroth's could   
understand- Sepheros did not understand it, but Sepheros's mind was Sephiroth's mind, so he knew it and   
could explain it perfectly- he just didn't understand it. Even that was a concept that only Sephiroth could   
conprehend, and Sepheros not, thus restarting this vicious cycle of absolutely logical nonsense.   
Sepheros didn't know where he was when he first awoke from the shock of having gone out of control. He   
scanned his surroundings, which were slightly off balance in his vision, and realized eventually that he had   
blown himself all the way to Corel. In fact, he was hovering right over the town. Now that he knew where he   
was, he collected himself.   
He was going to have to make sure that did not happen again, to get control over himself. First, though, he   
needed a place to think these things through. A lair, of sorts.   
Scanning the area, his hawk-level vision picked up a cave in one of the mountains near Corel that looked   
quite uninhabited due to its high altitute. He flew down to the level of the mountains and landed inside the   
place he would call home. He would meditate on what had happened, now, and then resume his search for   
Cloud and his other enemies.   
  
The Midgar plains were very hot around this time of year, even though they were a fair bit above the   
equator. There was a total lack of vegetation other than seemingly endless fields of tall brown grass and the   
occaisional shrubby tree, usually no taller than Cloud was himself, and a poor umbrella from the sun's rays.   
So, walking slowly but surely across the barren plains, Cloud, Barret, Elena, and Reno chatted a bit as they   
went.   
"Why do you suppose Sephiroth acted up like that?" Elena inquired.   
"He's not exactly Sephiroth," Cloud pointed out. "He's called Sepheros now. And as for the outburst, I'd say   
he probably just lost his temper and went out of control. He's got a lot of power, perhaps more than he   
knows how to use at this point."   
"An if he ever does, all hell breaks loose," Barret added ominously.   
"On the other hand, maybe he can't use it," Reno suggested. "Maybe it only happens when he's out of   
control."   
Elena was startled that Reno had offered such an insightful comment. She was happy, though, and it also   
proved a theory of hers- that Reno and Rude only acted like idiots when around eachother. She had thought   
this may be the case for some time now, but had never been with one and not the other for more than five   
minutes. Now she saw that she had been right, and they weren't total bozos afterall. Maybe they'd even   
shape up completely, now that they weren't under Shinra anymore. If that happened, it would be just like old   
times, back when Tseng was around. Except that Tseng wouldn't be around. She sighed a heavy mental sigh.   
  
"I wonder if it killed him," Cloud mused. "He wasn't in the air where he had been anymore when we came to,   
but that doesn't mean he wasn't anywhere in the air."   
"It sort of seems like it," Reno decided. "I mean, it seemed sort of like a last breath of destruction to take his   
enemies with him. Sort of like on the last level of Star Fox 64."   
Everyone looked at Reno like he was crazy. "Sorry," he muttered. Well, maybe he'll always be a little childish,   
but I sort of like him that way, Elena thought to herself.   
"You can talk about video games if you want to," Elena shrugged.   
"Cool!" Reno exclaimed. "Did I ever tell you about this video game series called Final Force, there are like   
eight installments and the ninth is just about to come out-"   
"Yes, a hundred times, Reno," Elena laughed.   
"Nuh-uh, there are only eight so far!" Reno argued. Even Cloud cracked up about that.   
"So how far d'ya think the coast is?" Barret asked with his attention aimed at Cloud. He wasn't into such idle   
talk at a time like this, of course. Barret was all seriousness when things got rough, although he sometimes   
entertained people without meaning to.   
"It should only be a few days' walk," Cloud shrugged. "If only we had a vehicle, we could be there so fast..."   
"Guess we better move fast," Barret nodded.   
"Why's he called Sepheros now?" Elena suddenly turned the conversation all the way back to Sephiroth's   
alter ego.   
"It's tough to explain," Cloud said. "He's not exactly Sephiroth- but part of him is. He is genetically mixed   
with other lives as well, but Sephiroth is the dominating life. The thing is, I know they're joined some other   
way, too. Like their minds are one. I mean, Sepheros remembers everything that happened to Sephiroth- and   
he wouldn't if it was just a simple genetic mixing."   
"How d'ya know all that?" Barret asked in puzzlement.   
"I don't exactly know," Cloud admitted. "But every time we fight, it's like I get these waves from his head into   
mine. Like he's trying to show me what he is. I can almost feel his mind next to mine, or even with mine. And   
that's what he's telling me- that he is Sephiroth, but more. Who else is in the mix, I don't know."   
Reno turned up his nose in distaste. "I hate all that psychological stuff. Sooner or later he'll start messing   
with your head."   
"I don't think he can," Cloud argued. "I mean, I can see his mind, but it doesn't have any effect on me. I   
doubt he could use it to control me- and besides, if he could, he would have already."   
"I guess that's true," Reno admitted.   
  
Sepheros's eyes opened. After hours of sitting in quiet thought, he had sorted some things out. He was   
examing the fact that he existed in the first place, and more importantly, why and how he existed. He knew   
that he was more than a simple genetic mix- and even that part of it was an anomaly, as he couldn't tell who   
would have done this. Perhaps he would ask the one he had allied himself with. He seemed wise.   
But for now, Sepheros knew one thing and one thing only: He must still avenge his father who was himself,   
Sephiroth. He must destroy his own killer, Cloud Strife, the one who must not be alowed to live if the Events   
were to be set in motion. If only he could manage to eliminate Cloud Strife, the Events would be easily done.   
But not before.   
Sepheros stood up, and walked slowly out to the ledge overlooking the Corel Mountains from his cave. He   
removed his Murasame from the rock where he had "sheathed" it, placed it at his side, and lifted himself into   
the air, heading for the Midgar plains.   
This time, he would not fail.   
  
Elena gritted her teeth as she fruriously spun the stick back and forth in her hands. She had been taught to   
do this thousands of times, and yet not once had she managed it. It really pissed her off when she couldn't   
do something many others could. She redoubled her efforts, but the stick only slipped out of her hand. She   
stood up, yelled, and stamped on the stupid stick that refused to cooperate with her. Wasn't that what Shinra   
was about, afterall? Stamping on anything that didn't cooperate with you? But wait, she wasn't in Shinra   
anymore. Elena was always mad at herself for thinking like she was still in Shinra. She had to forget about   
that, Shinra was the enemy now.   
She sat down like a little girl whose parents wouldn't buy her the new doll she wanted and sulked for a while.   
Cloud Barret, and Reno were off trying to construct a shelter out of raw materials such as wood and stone,   
using a combination of Materia and their weapons as tools. Elena knew what they would do. They'd come   
over there, be done their shelter, and cast Fire on the little pile of kindling she'd made to light it. Well, she   
didn't want them to do that. She wanted to do it herself.   
She turned around and furiously turned the stick back and forth between the palms of her hands once again.   
It was just no good. The stick immediately broke. Elena slammed the two pieces down into the pile in   
frustration.   
She was just about to try it again when she heard a soft, masculine voice behind her: "Need some help?"   
It was Cloud, she knew. But she'd never really heard him talk softly before. He had a comforting tone about   
his voice when he talked like that, and it really enchanted Elena. In spite of this, she didn't want help.   
"No thanks," she said simply, trying to mimic the calm serenity of his voice, but instead sounding like an   
angry school girl.   
Somehow, a sixth sense told Elena Cloud was cocking his head to the side and smiling at her. She turned her   
head around to look at him, and he was.   
"At least... not if it's any trouble," she added meekly. She didn't know why, but she wanted him to help her.   
She'd never wanted anyone to help her before in her life. Why would it be different now? It pissed her off   
almost as much as the uncooperative stick. And yet, she didn't really feel very pissed off about it.   
"It's no trouble," Cloud shrugged. "Here, let me show you."   
He knelt down behind her, reached over her shoulders, and put his hands on the backs of hers, then put   
them around a new stick.   
"You have to pace it like this," he said, and began to move her hands back and forth. "Don't get frustrated,   
and don't try to twirl it harder if it isn't working."   
Elena was breathing heavily. "Okay," she nodded uncomfortably. No, not uncomfortably- she was so   
comfortable it came out sounding like she was uncomfortable. She wasn't comfortable with being this   
comfortable around Cloud.   
Cloud's motions gradually lessened, as he let Elena take over. Eventually, he removed his hands, but still   
knelt closely behind her, watching over her shoulder. Finally, a small flame peeled up, and then gradually   
grew into a blaze. The funny thing was, Elena felt proud of the fire, even though she'd had to be shown what   
to do. Maybe being helped by others wasn't so bad afterall.   
Cloud and Elena sat back on the lalf-logs that they had set up earlier around the kindling, staring into the   
blaze for a bit. Elena looked up at Cloud. He looked so solemn and satisfied, sitting there, just staring into the   
fire. He looked up to meet her gaze, probably sensing her looking at him. She looked away sharply,   
embarrased. Elena wasn't used to embarrasment. Cloud made her feel strange.   
"How are you such a content person?" Elena suddenly asked. "You've got all this stuff to worry about... and   
sometimes you seem downright frustrated. Why are you so happy?"   
Cloud smiled. "I thought I was a clone, created as nothing more than a mere scientific experiment. Then I   
found out I wasn't- and it was such a good feeling. I understood and loved my past for the first time ever,   
and it was great. That changed my whole outlook on the world. Sometimes something huge just happens to   
you, and changes everything for you, and when it does, it's an incredible feeling. I don't think I'll ever be   
truly depressed again."   
Elena was mistified. She'd never thought about life that way. Be your best throughout life, and you'll be   
rewarded was what she had always lived by. The idea of not having to do great things- but just to change   
yourself- to turn your life around was an interesting one.   
"How'd you find out?" she asked, wanting to know more.   
"A friend of mine helped out. Probably the greatest friend I have. I owe so much to her."   
"Aeris?" asked Elena.   
Cloud felt like he'd been hit in the chest with a sledgehammer.   
"No," he said quietly. "Tifa."   
"Oh," Elena nodded. She'd been happy when he said it wasn't Aeris, but then sad when she found out it was   
still a woman. Why?   
And then she finally decided to accept it. Maybe this would the big change in her life. She needed other   
people, she needed companionship, she needed love. And yes, she did have feelings for Cloud. She wanted   
to tell him right then and there. She decided she would.   
"Do you... like Tifa?" she asked. What? That wasn't what she wanted to say.   
"Not like that," Cloud shook his head. "I don't think I ever will again, to be honest. I never knew it until she   
was gone, but I was in love with Aeris. I'm not sure I can ever feel that way about another woman again. It   
wasn't the kind of love you normally feel for another person."   
That completely scared Elena away. She couldn't tell him after that. It would be too awkward for him.   
  
After Reno and Barret finished moving a rather heavy log, they sat down to take a break for a bit. Reno   
looked up, wondering where Cloud was. That was when he spied Cloud and Elena sitting together by the   
camp fire, chatting idly. What had happened here? Had he missed something?   
He was very mad. Elena had known him for ages now, and she had never sat around a campfire and chatted   
idly with him. Cloud was her former enemy- they'd been friends for what, a day or two? And here they were,   
spending time alone. And plus, Cloud had the nerve to leave the work to them, while he went and had a little   
conversation. What was wrong with him? Reno wondered if Barret had noticed. He would undoubtedly be   
outraged too.   
"Look," Reno said in disgust to Barret, "Cloud ditched us, and he's just sittin around."   
"Ya just noticed?" Barret asked in surprise. "Let 'em. The guy's been through a lot. If he's finally talkin to   
ladies again, I ain't gonna stop him. He needs to get over Aeris." That was the annoying thing about Barret.   
He was always so grumpy, and yet he had such a great heart at the times when it wasn't a good thing for   
Reno.   
  
Eventually, they all hit the sack for the night. Cloud was the last to fall asleep. He lay awake thinking of   
Aeris. He made a descision. He would no longer try to keep Aeris barried in his mind. He would let the   
thoughts come, freely, and they did. He wept for a time, then fell asleep and dreamt nightmares that were   
nonsense except for one scene, the scene of Aeris's death, being played over and over again in his mind.   
Sephiroth was in absolute bafflement. He didn't understand what had happend to Sepheros- the insane,   
uncontrollable flury of raw power had taken him completely by surprise. The problem was that Sepheros had   
personality traits that Sephiroth did not, such as a temper, and the ability to be amused- and Sephiroth   
understood that perfectly, because he was Sepheros. It was frustrating, feeling feelings that were not his   
own and yet came from him. It was a concept no mind in the universe other than Sephiroth's could   
understand- Sepheros did not understand it, but Sepheros's mind was Sephiroth's mind, so he knew it and   
could explain it perfectly- he just didn't understand it. Even that was a concept that only Sephiroth could   
conprehend, and Sepheros not, thus restarting this vicious cycle of absolutely logical nonsense.   
Sepheros didn't know where he was when he first awoke from the shock of having gone out of control. He   
scanned his surroundings, which were slightly off balance in his vision, and realized eventually that he had   
blown himself all the way to Corel. In fact, he was hovering right over the town. Now that he knew where he   
was, he collected himself.   
He was going to have to make sure that did not happen again, to get control over himself. First, though, he   
needed a place to think these things through. A lair, of sorts.   
Scanning the area, his hawk-level vision picked up a cave in one of the mountains near Corel that looked   
quite uninhabited due to its high altitute. He flew down to the level of the mountains and landed inside the   
place he would call home. He would meditate on what had happened, now, and then resume his search for   
Cloud and his other enemies.   
  
The Midgar plains were very hot around this time of year, even though they were a fair bit above the   
equator. There was a total lack of vegetation other than seemingly endless fields of tall brown grass and the   
occaisional shrubby tree, usually no taller than Cloud was himself, and a poor umbrella from the sun's rays.   
So, walking slowly but surely across the barren plains, Cloud, Barret, Elena, and Reno chatted a bit as they   
went.   
"Why do you suppose Sephiroth acted up like that?" Elena inquired.   
"He's not exactly Sephiroth," Cloud pointed out. "He's called Sepheros now. And as for the outburst, I'd say   
he probably just lost his temper and went out of control. He's got a lot of power, perhaps more than he   
knows how to use at this point."   
"An if he ever does, all hell breaks loose," Barret added ominously.   
"On the other hand, maybe he can't use it," Reno suggested. "Maybe it only happens when he's out of   
control."   
Elena was startled that Reno had offered such an insightful comment. She was happy, though, and it also   
proved a theory of hers- that Reno and Rude only acted like idiots when around eachother. She had thought   
this may be the case for some time now, but had never been with one and not the other for more than five   
minutes. Now she saw that she had been right, and they weren't total bozos afterall. Maybe they'd even   
shape up completely, now that they weren't under Shinra anymore. If that happened, it would be just like old   
times, back when Tseng was around. Except that Tseng wouldn't be around. She sighed a heavy mental sigh.   
  
"I wonder if it killed him," Cloud mused. "He wasn't in the air where he had been anymore when we came to,   
but that doesn't mean he wasn't anywhere in the air."   
"It sort of seems like it," Reno decided. "I mean, it seemed sort of like a last breath of destruction to take his   
enemies with him. Sort of like on the last level of Star Fox 64."   
Everyone looked at Reno like he was crazy. "Sorry," he muttered. Well, maybe he'll always be a little childish,   
but I sort of like him that way, Elena thought to herself.   
"You can talk about video games if you want to," Elena shrugged.   
"Cool!" Reno exclaimed. "Did I ever tell you about this video game series called Final Force, there are like   
eight installments and the ninth is just about to come out-"   
"Yes, a hundred times, Reno," Elena laughed.   
"Nuh-uh, there are only eight so far!" Reno argued. Even Cloud cracked up about that.   
"So how far d'ya think the coast is?" Barret asked with his attention aimed at Cloud. He wasn't into such idle   
talk at a time like this, of course. Barret was all seriousness when things got rough, although he sometimes   
entertained people without meaning to.   
"It should only be a few days' walk," Cloud shrugged. "If only we had a vehicle, we could be there so fast..."   
"Guess we better move fast," Barret nodded.   
"Why's he called Sepheros now?" Elena suddenly turned the conversation all the way back to Sephiroth's   
alter ego.   
"It's tough to explain," Cloud said. "He's not exactly Sephiroth- but part of him is. He is genetically mixed   
with other lives as well, but Sephiroth is the dominating life. The thing is, I know they're joined some other   
way, too. Like their minds are one. I mean, Sepheros remembers everything that happened to Sephiroth- and   
he wouldn't if it was just a simple genetic mixing."   
"How d'ya know all that?" Barret asked in puzzlement.   
"I don't exactly know," Cloud admitted. "But every time we fight, it's like I get these waves from his head into   
mine. Like he's trying to show me what he is. I can almost feel his mind next to mine, or even with mine. And   
that's what he's telling me- that he is Sephiroth, but more. Who else is in the mix, I don't know."   
Reno turned up his nose in distaste. "I hate all that psychological stuff. Sooner or later he'll start messing   
with your head."   
"I don't think he can," Cloud argued. "I mean, I can see his mind, but it doesn't have any effect on me. I   
doubt he could use it to control me- and besides, if he could, he would have already."   
"I guess that's true," Reno admitted.   
  
Sepheros's eyes opened. After hours of sitting in quiet thought, he had sorted some things out. He was   
examing the fact that he existed in the first place, and more importantly, why and how he existed. He knew   
that he was more than a simple genetic mix- and even that part of it was an anomaly, as he couldn't tell who   
would have done this. Perhaps he would ask the one he had allied himself with. He seemed wise.   
But for now, Sepheros knew one thing and one thing only: He must still avenge his father who was himself,   
Sephiroth. He must destroy his own killer, Cloud Strife, the one who must not be alowed to live if the Events   
were to be set in motion. If only he could manage to eliminate Cloud Strife, the Events would be easily done.   
But not before.   
Sepheros stood up, and walked slowly out to the ledge overlooking the Corel Mountains from his cave. He   
removed his Murasame from the rock where he had "sheathed" it, placed it at his side, and lifted himself into   
the air, heading for the Midgar plains.   
This time, he would not fail.   
  
Elena gritted her teeth as she fruriously spun the stick back and forth in her hands. She had been taught to   
do this thousands of times, and yet not once had she managed it. It really pissed her off when she couldn't   
do something many others could. She redoubled her efforts, but the stick only slipped out of her hand. She   
stood up, yelled, and stamped on the stupid stick that refused to cooperate with her. Wasn't that what Shinra   
was about, afterall? Stamping on anything that didn't cooperate with you? But wait, she wasn't in Shinra   
anymore. Elena was always mad at herself for thinking like she was still in Shinra. She had to forget about   
that, Shinra was the enemy now.   
She sat down like a little girl whose parents wouldn't buy her the new doll she wanted and sulked for a while.   
Cloud Barret, and Reno were off trying to construct a shelter out of raw materials such as wood and stone,   
using a combination of Materia and their weapons as tools. Elena knew what they would do. They'd come   
over there, be done their shelter, and cast Fire on the little pile of kindling she'd made to light it. Well, she   
didn't want them to do that. She wanted to do it herself.   
She turned around and furiously turned the stick back and forth between the palms of her hands once again.   
It was just no good. The stick immediately broke. Elena slammed the two pieces down into the pile in   
frustration.   
She was just about to try it again when she heard a soft, masculine voice behind her: "Need some help?"   
It was Cloud, she knew. But she'd never really heard him talk softly before. He had a comforting tone about   
his voice when he talked like that, and it really enchanted Elena. In spite of this, she didn't want help.   
"No thanks," she said simply, trying to mimic the calm serenity of his voice, but instead sounding like an   
angry school girl.   
Somehow, a sixth sense told Elena Cloud was cocking his head to the side and smiling at her. She turned her   
head around to look at him, and he was.   
"At least... not if it's any trouble," she added meekly. She didn't know why, but she wanted him to help her.   
She'd never wanted anyone to help her before in her life. Why would it be different now? It pissed her off   
almost as much as the uncooperative stick. And yet, she didn't really feel very pissed off about it.   
"It's no trouble," Cloud shrugged. "Here, let me show you."   
He knelt down behind her, reached over her shoulders, and put his hands on the backs of hers, then put   
them around a new stick.   
"You have to pace it like this," he said, and began to move her hands back and forth. "Don't get frustrated,   
and don't try to twirl it harder if it isn't working."   
Elena was breathing heavily. "Okay," she nodded uncomfortably. No, not uncomfortably- she was so   
comfortable it came out sounding like she was uncomfortable. She wasn't comfortable with being this   
comfortable around Cloud.   
Cloud's motions gradually lessened, as he let Elena take over. Eventually, he removed his hands, but still   
knelt closely behind her, watching over her shoulder. Finally, a small flame peeled up, and then gradually   
grew into a blaze. The funny thing was, Elena felt proud of the fire, even though she'd had to be shown what   
to do. Maybe being helped by others wasn't so bad afterall.   
Cloud and Elena sat back on the lalf-logs that they had set up earlier around the kindling, staring into the   
blaze for a bit. Elena looked up at Cloud. He looked so solemn and satisfied, sitting there, just staring into the   
fire. He looked up to meet her gaze, probably sensing her looking at him. She looked away sharply,   
embarrased. Elena wasn't used to embarrasment. Cloud made her feel strange.   
"How are you such a content person?" Elena suddenly asked. "You've got all this stuff to worry about... and   
sometimes you seem downright frustrated. Why are you so happy?"   
Cloud smiled. "I thought I was a clone, created as nothing more than a mere scientific experiment. Then I   
found out I wasn't- and it was such a good feeling. I understood and loved my past for the first time ever,   
and it was great. That changed my whole outlook on the world. Sometimes something huge just happens to   
you, and changes everything for you, and when it does, it's an incredible feeling. I don't think I'll ever be   
truly depressed again."   
Elena was mistified. She'd never thought about life that way. Be your best throughout life, and you'll be   
rewarded was what she had always lived by. The idea of not having to do great things- but just to change   
yourself- to turn your life around was an interesting one.   
"How'd you find out?" she asked, wanting to know more.   
"A friend of mine helped out. Probably the greatest friend I have. I owe so much to her."   
"Aeris?" asked Elena.   
Cloud felt like he'd been hit in the chest with a sledgehammer.   
"No," he said quietly. "Tifa."   
"Oh," Elena nodded. She'd been happy when he said it wasn't Aeris, but then sad when she found out it was   
still a woman. Why?   
And then she finally decided to accept it. Maybe this would the big change in her life. She needed other   
people, she needed companionship, she needed love. And yes, she did have feelings for Cloud. She wanted   
to tell him right then and there. She decided she would.   
"Do you... like Tifa?" she asked. What? That wasn't what she wanted to say.   
"Not like that," Cloud shook his head. "I don't think I ever will again, to be honest. I never knew it until she   
was gone, but I was in love with Aeris. I'm not sure I can ever feel that way about another woman again. It   
wasn't the kind of love you normally feel for another person."   
That completely scared Elena away. She couldn't tell him after that. It would be too awkward for him.   
  
After Reno and Barret finished moving a rather heavy log, they sat down to take a break for a bit. Reno   
looked up, wondering where Cloud was. That was when he spied Cloud and Elena sitting together by the   
camp fire, chatting idly. What had happened here? Had he missed something?   
He was very mad. Elena had known him for ages now, and she had never sat around a campfire and chatted   
idly with him. Cloud was her former enemy- they'd been friends for what, a day or two? And here they were,   
spending time alone. And plus, Cloud had the nerve to leave the work to them, while he went and had a little   
conversation. What was wrong with him? Reno wondered if Barret had noticed. He would undoubtedly be   
outraged too.   
"Look," Reno said in disgust to Barret, "Cloud ditched us, and he's just sittin around."   
"Ya just noticed?" Barret asked in surprise. "Let 'em. The guy's been through a lot. If he's finally talkin to   
ladies again, I ain't gonna stop him. He needs to get over Aeris." That was the annoying thing about Barret.   
He was always so grumpy, and yet he had such a great heart at the times when it wasn't a good thing for   
Reno.   
  
Eventually, they all hit the sack for the night. Cloud was the last to fall asleep. He lay awake thinking of   
Aeris. He made a descision. He would no longer try to keep Aeris barried in his mind. He would let the   
thoughts come, freely, and they did. He wept for a time, then fell asleep and dreamt nightmares that were   
nonsense except for one scene, the scene of Aeris's death, being played over and over again in his mind.   
The four of them awoke early the next morning, ready to start afresh. Cloud was relieved to be awake and out   
of his nightmares, no longer having to remember the horrible scene that had taken Aeris away from him. It   
took a while, but he eventually forgot it as he chatted with the others over a breakfast of chocobo eggs.   
Cloud had always loved chocobo eggs, and he dug right in.   
Reno, on the other hand, looked positively grumpy. Not without reason, either. He eyed Cloud and Elena   
suspiciously for a while, seeing how close they were, if they looked at eachother, and basically looking for as   
many signs as he could.   
"I hope that it's like this for the rest of the trip," Elena commented while they ate.   
Of course you do, Reno though bitterly to himself. You're the one having all the romance. Leave me alone   
with Barret to talk to. Thanks. What am I supposed to do, fall in love with him?   
"What's wrong, Reno?" Elena asked with concern, seeming to notice his discomfort.   
"I dunno," Reno muttered. "Didn't sleep too good last night."   
"That sucks," Elena sympathized. "Guess you're not an under-the-stars kind of guy."   
No, not like Cloud is, is that why you like him so much better?   
"Well, we better get movin," Barret changed the subject. "If they get that ship to the coast before we're there,   
they'll pass right by where we end up, an then we won't have no ride home."   
Cloud nodded. "I hope we're not at this too long, or Shinra may cause some trouble before we can do   
anything about it."   
"Do we really have to go so early?" Elena asked disappointedly. "I'd much rather stick around and chat for a   
while."   
"We gotta make good time," Barret shook his head.   
"It's okay," Cloud shrugged. "We have pleanty of time, the others have longer to go to Junon then we have   
to the coast, and they'll take a day or so to sail up to the coast. It won't matter if we spend another hour or so   
here."   
"Whatever," muttered Barret.   
Elena beamed at Cloud. "Thanks, Cloud," she said sweetly.   
Reno got up and walked a ways off of camp. "Gonna go for a little walk," he explained. No one seemed to   
give it a second thought. If Cloud had done the same thing, Elena would have immediately jumped up and   
offered to go with him. It was the most frustrating thing in the world.   
He walked slowly through the dew-sodden grasses of the Midgar Plains, kicking at the ground every other   
step and thinking about Elena. Maybe he should just try not to care. Find some other girl who would like him   
more than her former enemy.   
But he couldn't just make himself not care about Elena- he had been in love with her ever since they first met.   
Why he had never told her, he didn't know at all. It irritated him tremendously. He wondered why she didn't   
seem to like him very much. He was always so nice to her. Wasn't he? Was he doing something wrong?   
Reno's thought wandered back to the old days of the turks, back when President Shinra was still around.   
How he longed for those days to return. Back then, they were fearsome, united under their strong leader   
Tseng. Reno had always looked up to Tseng, and as soon as he was gone, there was no more meaning for   
the turks except to get revenge on his killers. But now that was gone, too, because they'd allied themselves   
with them. He couldn't stand it anymore. Maybe he should leave, right now, just leave. Only then he would   
never see Elena anymore, and even though she was probably out of his reach, he couldn't live with that   
thought.   
He turned around to head back to camp.   
Barret had gone off to search for some food rations to bring on the journey with them- more for the sake of   
letting Cloud be alone with Elena. He wondered how far the two of them were going. He'd have to ask Cloud   
about it sometime.   
Cloud and Elena sat together on a fairly large rock, looking at the sunrise. "I love sunrises," Cloud was telling   
her. "And sunsets. I don't know why, but they've always been something special for me."   
"That's really neat," Elena complemented. She only wished this could be a more officially romantic thing. She   
imagined how nice it would be if Cloud's arm were around her shoulder and she were leaning her head on his.   
But she didn't want to try to start anything. If he liked her back, which it sort of seemed like he did, then he'd   
start it. It was the guy's job, afterall.   
Barret looked at his watch and decided it was about time he got back. He just hoped he wouldn't interrupt   
anything, but he doubted Cloud would be doing anything like that. It wasn't Cloud's style. He'd save it for a   
time when they weren't in the middle of an adventure.   
Barret didn't notice anything until he heard a twig snap behind him, then wheeled sharply around, and when   
he saw the tall, silver-haired form of Sepheros standing behind him, he let out a curse at the top of his lungs   
and began unloading his gatling gun. Unfortunately, Barret soon realized that Sepheros had cast Shield, and   
his bullets meant nothing.   
"Night," said Sepheros, and he smashed the butt of his Murasame into Barret's head, knocking him out. He   
didn't want to kill Barret. It would be so much nicer when he awoke to find Cloud gutted to death.   
Sepheros knew that Cloud must be nearby if Barret was there. He flew into the air to resume his search.   
"Ah, it's starting to end," Cloud said disappointedly. "We should probably get going now. I wonder where   
Ba-"   
Cloud didn't finish his sentence, but instead stared forward, looking hard into the sunset.   
"Cloud?" Elena asked in puzzlement. She looked where he was starting, then gasped. Cloud leapt up, the   
Ultima Weapon drawn.   
"Sepheros," Elena muttered in fear, as the muscular form of Sephiroth's legacy settled softly to the ground in   
front of them.   
"Cloud Strife," he whispered. "You've escaped me for the last time. This time, I swear I will defeat you."   
"Come and get it," Cloud nodded, his eyes narrowing. He held the Ultima Weapon up in front of him.   
Sepheros sneered. "Not this time, Spikes," he said maliciously. It was weird to hear someone who looked   
exactly like Sephiroth make a humorous statement, even if it was lame. "I may not be able to use my powers   
directly on you, but I've got an idea here," he finished.   
He then shot up into the air at top speed, and yelled, "Fire 3!"   
It wasn't just one Fire 3, though- with one casting, he started 10 blazes. The sun was so hot here that it had   
already dried up most of the dew; what was left was immediately burned away by the intense heat of the   
magical flames. A huge fire began to roar across the plains, heading straight for Cloud and Elena.   
Cloud turned to run, but stopped as he saw Elena stand there, holding her hand out. He turned in puzzlement   
to face her, and was about to tell her to run, when he heard her mutter "Shiva." Cloud didn't know that Elena   
had a Shiva Materia, but he was pretty glad of it.   
The mighty Shiva rose up from the earth, her frosty presence causing the grass around her to freeze over.   
She spread her hands out, and in a flash, a huge blanket of ice spread over the flames, instantly quelling   
them. Then she returned to the land of Summoned Monsters.   
Sepheros floated down again. "I see you've found a counter yet again," he muttered. "That girl means   
nothing to me, however. You and I, we must battle again."   
Cloud nodded. "I agree. You'll have to stay out of this one, Elena."   
"What?!" Elena yelled indignantly. "I've got to help you!"   
"You can't," Cloud shook his head. "It's a personal thing. Sepheros and I have to settle this. Besides, there's   
nothing you could do against that sword. Stay back."   
Elena nodded reluctantly, and Cloud proceeded towards Sepheros.   
If the first duel between the two was a cataclysm, the second was a cataclysm times a cataclysm. The two   
blades seemed to be a couple of blurs as they clashed thunderously over and over again, spraying blue   
sparks every which way on each impact.   
Cloud wasn't prepared for Sepheros's new strategy, however. Sepheros began to use his ability to fly as an   
advantage. He would dart quickly backwards, then fly forward with tremendous force before Cloud had time   
to form a solid defense, which began to weaken him. Finally, Sepheros flipped over Cloud's head, and, still in   
the air behind him, kicked him in the back of the head. Cloud tumbled to the ground. His head ached too   
much to get up, and saw about six of Sepheros as he raised the Murasame above his head to deliver the final   
strike.   
But suddenly, six Elena's kicked the Murasame from each Sepheros's hand, sending it flying off, then used to   
element of surprise to deal them a crushing roundhouse quick, stunning them long enough for the Elenas to   
cast Cure 3 on Cloud.   
Cloud leapt up, revived. Sepheros got up, too, though, and charged back into the fight. Cloud aimed an   
overhead slash as Sepheros flew forwards, but Sepheros countered by slamming his fist into Cloud's wrist in   
such a way that he let go of the Ultima Weapon, and it fell to the ground. Niether had time enough to try and   
grab the weapon, and instead they continued hand to hand. Cloud's prowess at hand-to-hand combat was   
not great, but Elena was in the fight now, and the two of them combined were too much for Sepheros. Finally,   
beaten and bruised, Sepheros began to feel his anger heating up. His power was beginning to flow harder.   
He couldn't let this happen again. If it did, it might completely destroy him. It was the most frustrating thing   
to have this weakness when he was so incredibly powerful- but he had no choice.   
"I'll see you another time, Cloud," Sepheros finally submitted, and flew into the air, heading west.   
"You sure will," Cloud said as he watched Sepheros become a distant speck. He turned to Elena. "Thanks,   
Elena," he said solemnly. "You did great." Elena was about to reach out for a handshake, but instead, Cloud   
took her in an embrace. "I'm sorry we were enemies once."   
"Me too," Elena whispered. She was too much in awe to say much else.   
  
Ashroth stepped out of the large chopper and onto the fertile land of the Mideel Area. He looked around at   
the paradise he had landed in, taking in the beautiful waves off the shore, feeling the pleasant sea breeze, and   
enjoying the tropical climate. This was a wonderful place to restart Shinra. Midgar 2 would finally be built,   
and it would be built here.   
He stepped into the town of Mideel, followed by a troop of Shinra soldiers. "Go," he ordered. The soldiers   
spread throughout the town, taking people from their homes and then burning them. Ashroth exited the town   
again and watched from a high rock as Mideel burnt to the ground. He smiled in pleasure as he heard the   
anguished cries of the people whose homes were being destroyed. He loved to have the power to cause   
others pain. It was the ultimate form of dominance.   
General Argad walked slowly up behind Ashroth. "Sir," he said with a robotic salute.   
"What is it, general?" Ashroth asked with a slight hint of irritation. Argad would have to be careful.   
"We've just confirmed reports that the members of AVALANCHE have gone missing," Argad reported. "I   
thought you might want to know."   
"Thank you, general," Ashroth nodded. "Is that all?"   
"Yes, sir."   
"Dismissed."   
"Yes, sir." Argad walked away in relief.   
This was an intersting turn of events. Ashroth would have to ponder it for a while. But for now, he had   
something else to attend to.   
He walked back to the makeshift army camp that the Shinra had set up outside Mideel. "Where is colonel   
Jeraz?" he demanded.   
"I'll go get him for you, sir," a nearby private immediately offered.   
"Make it quick," Ashroth ordered.   
"Yes sir," the private nodded obediently, and rushed off to find Jeraz.   
Ashroth waited for a minute or so before the colonel rushed out to see him. "You wanted to see me, sir?" he   
asked with a salute.   
"Yes, colonel," Ashroth nodded. He didn't look at Jeraz at all, of course. "I would like you to take care of a   
little operation for me."   
  
Sepheros landed in his cave in anger. He had failed to kill Cloud again, and it was beginning to annoy him. It   
seemed ridiculous with all his incredible power that he could not kill a mere mortal man. But he couldn't. It   
drove him nuts.   
What he needed was a plan. He must think, how could he possible get to Cloud in a better way than direct   
confrontation? He was Sephiroth, so he knew many things about Cloud. He searched Sephiroth's memories   
for a clue. Then, suddenly, it hit upon him. There was one thing that he knew he could use against Cloud.   
This time, the plan was foolproof. Sepheros walked to the edge of his cave, and then flew out into the world   
yet again. It was time to create the weapon that would destroy Cloud once and for all.  
  
Here ends Volume 1: The Perfect Warrior of the saga Final Fantasy VII: Beyond Apocalypse. The saga continues in Volume 2: The Rejoining.  
  



	2. Volume 2- The Rejoining

FINAL FANTASY VII: BEYOND APOCALYPSE  
  
VOLUME 2- THE REJOINING  
  
PREFACE   
  
In my opinion, the LifeStream is not just a massive flowing collection of liquid, but a place where souls can live and interact with oneanother on their way back to the Planet. In this vast, flowing world, souls do not communicate in ways that we can undestand; instead of a physical world, they have an existance on a different plane, one where thoughts dictate all actions. In the story of Final Fantasy VII: Beyond Apocalypse, my idea of the heirarchy of the LifeStream will be important.   
Those new to the LifeStream flow into it under those who have been there for a time, making up the lowest, most common class of life in this world. Depending on how worthy they are judged, they may be returned to the planet immediately or they may remain in the LifeStream for a greater period of time. Most souls that pass through the LifeStream leave after the first level, and this does not mean that they are evil, simply ordinary.   
Souls who lived especially good lives on the Planet are taken to the middle level before being returned to the Planet. On this level a higher knowledge and understanding of the universe are granted, for the souls there are more able to comprehend such things.   
The final level is that of the LifeStream Sages. These are not neccessarily souls who lived good lives- they are those who had something profound, something great about them, something that sets them mentally above the rest of the human race. These few souls are in charge of handling and taking care of the LifeStream, and also have other duties to carry out in times of need- for example, the reason why Aeris heard the cries of the Planet in Final Fantasy VII was because a LifeStream Sage was communicating directly with her. LifeStream Sages are the link between the physical and the LifeStream, but even as only those souls of the LifeStream whose minds are elevated to a higher level than those of almost all others can be LifeStream Sages, only those on the Planet whose minds are of incredible power are able to communicate with the Sages. That is why for the most part the Cetra were able to communicate with the Planet and not humans. Some humans could, but they were not well known, and often mistaken for Cetra when rarely they were seen.   
And so the saga continues, the saga of Final Fantasy VII: Beyond Apocalypse, in the second volume, The Rejoining.   
  
THE JUNON AREA   
  
Cid stared forward into the rising sun as he and his companions, Vincent, Red XIII, and Cait Sith a.k.a. Reeve, trecked across the wastelands nearby the huge city of Junon. Ever since the fall of Shinra, the town taken a back seat to the commonly talked about subjects of the day- most people had been more interested how decimated Midgar had been, and if Shinra was going to rebuild it. Junon was, however, still a Shinra city, and still the center of their navy- half of which was now engaged in fierce warfare on the western side of the world at Wu Tai.   
"It should be about two more days until we make it to Junon," Red commented. Red was good with distances and times, so they trusted his opinions.   
"I hope so," Cid said irritably. "I'm startin' ta get sick o' all this walkin. I like the sky, not the fuckin ground." He lit up a cigarrette as he spoke.   
"Keep the smoke at a distance, please," Red asked politely.   
"You oughta try a smoke for yourself," Cid suggested.   
Red made a face of disgust. "Such things are not for me. I don't really understand the point of it."   
"Mostly it's just ta get addicted to it, I guess," Cid admitted.   
"Then why do it?" Red asked curiously. He was always interested to understand human ways, but usually did not.   
"It's tough to explain," Cid scratched his head. He was certainly not good at explaining these things.   
"Some people think it makes them look good in public," Vincent put in for him. "It is a foolish and irrational thing to do, but human nature is to disregard such in order to advance themselves."   
"I see," Red said trustily. He and Vincent almost always seemed to agree on philosophical things.   
"You make it sound like a bunch o' bullshit," Cid complained.   
"If that's the term you want to use, then yes, I meant to."   
Cid sighed. "Nobody understands me," he mumbled. "And another thing. I wanna hear you curse, Vincent. Yer too polite."   
"I see no need to use such vulgar terms," Vincent shrugged.   
"It's more satisfying. Try it."   
"Why?"   
"Just do."   
"Fuck," said Vincent. "I see no entertainment in that," he followed up.   
"No," Cid shook his head in frustration, "Ya gotta say it in the right situation. Like when someone annoys ya, you say, 'Fuck you'. Get it?"   
"I'll try it," Vincent shrugged. "I guess I should keep an open mind."   
"Good," Cid said satisfactorily. "Now you need to try a cigarette," he said to Red.   
"I really am not interested," said Red.   
"Why do you feel the need to corrupt people?" Cait Sith laughed.   
"What? Swearin's good for ya. Smokin is just... smokin. I dunno."   
"I don't see how certain words could be good for you," Cait Sith shook his head. "They're not very polite. Imagine if I went around saying that to everyone who annoyed me. I wouldn't have been able to keep a job, and concequently we never would have met."   
"Whatever," Cid shrugged. He didn't feel like talking with a businessman right now. He wasn't that type at all.   
"Perhaps the entertainment is derived from a sense of defiance," Vincent brought the subject back up again. "Could that be it?"   
Cid scratched his head. "I think what yer sayin is that you think I curse because I like to be bad."   
"Well, it comes to the same thing."   
Cid shook his head. "That's fer kids. Swearin's good for ya. Helps ya take out aggressions without actually doin anything."   
"I think I get it," Vincent nodded. "Allright. I'll try it sometime, and see how it works."   
Cid nodded. There wasn't really anything else to say.   
The four of them walked on in silence for a bit, but the calm was quickly broken as a cry from Cait Sith could be heard from the rear of their small group; the three of them whirled around to see what he was talking about. They understood the reason all right. Behind them stood a tremendous monster that none of them had ever seen before. Its back was covered by a thick, gray shell with large spikes protruding from the it in a symetrical design, and its body was jet black with ferocious, hungry green eyes on the sizable head- which had its own shell, making the beast look like a great armored knight. Its forelegs were covered partially in the same shell, and ended in large paws that looked to be designed for digging, while its hind legs were supporting its body weight and had flat, almost fin-like feet. A long, spirally tale waved about in the rear, with a pine-cone-like smashing club at the end, covered in dull spikes. Its skin was such a dark black color that no mouth was visible on the head- until its lower jaw opened widely to reveal a blood red, salivating tongue and seven rows of wicked teeth. Up its underbelly ran a thin strip of spikey scales that extended from its chin all the way to its tale. It was quite a site to behold, as it stood five times Cid's own height and about ten times his width.   
"What do you suppose it could be?" Red asked curiously, fascinated with the creature's armored appearance.   
"I dunno," Cid shook his head, taking his spear from his back, "But I don't think it's friendly. We might wanna get outa here."   
"On the contrary," Vincent said, his eyes flashing with eagerness as he pulled out the Death Penalty in a spin that automatically cocked the deadly weapon. "It will be a new and interesting battle."   
"Somehow I thought you might see it that way," Cid said dissapointedly.   
"It looks like it's probably a digging creature, and the scales don't look particularly flamable, so don't use any Quake or Fire spells," Red cautioned as the four of them approached.   
"Let's see if I can weaken it," Cait Sith suggested. He raised his moogle's arms into the air and shouted, "Demi 3!"   
A great sphere of pulsating gray energy began to form around the giant beast, and it looked around in confusion. The sphere quickly began to retract into the center of the creature, and when it was done, the loud whirring sound it produced stopped. The beast, rather than looking discouraged, suddenly opened its eyes wider, let loose a thunderous roar, and began to approach the companions.   
"I don't think that helped, Reeve," Cid groaned as the behemoth approached. Vincent let loose a thunderous blast from the death penalty, and although it did not hit the armory parts of the creature, it seemed to have little effect.   
"He's got to have a weakness," Red mused. "All the extremely powerful ones do."   
By now, the beast was upon them. It reached up one of its forelegs in preparation to stamp on Cid, but he rolled forward and under its exposed belly before the slow attack could hit its mark. He then proceeded to jam his spear upward into the thing's stomach. It let out a roar of pain and quickly reared up on its hind legs, its eyes flashing with anger and hate. This time, the leg came smashing down much faster than Cid was prepared for; he leapt from where he stood, but then cried out in pain as he felt the tremendous paw land squarely on his left leg. His right one had managed to get out, but the left was becoming crushed under the beast's massive weight. Vincent tried shooting it again, but the results were as before. Cid wasn't going to let this thing just stand there on his leg- he reached out with his spear and jammed the sharp end right inbetween where one of the claws met the skin. The creature began to shout in agony and let go of Cid; Cait Sith helped him up and dragged him off while Red and Vincent held the creature at bay.   
Cait Sith propped Cid up against a large rock. "Damn this hurts," Cid muttered. "I can't believe the bastard stepped on me..." he looked up at the fight. Vincent had resorted to using magic, but it seemed that no matter how many times he cast Flare, the damn thing just wouldn't die. Red had leapt in top of the beast's head and was desperately trying to break through the shell, but to no avail. Cid wasn't going to just stand around and let his friends struggle with an impossible opponent. He had to do something.   
"Ice 3!" he yelled. As frosty energy exploded onto the creature's giant body, it seemed to change. It almost looked like it shriveled. The burning green eyes lost their anger, the mouth hung stupidly open with drool hanging down, and the massive, hulking body crashed to the earth on its side. Crystal-like ice shards ran all over the thing's body, covering until it was a mass of shining ice. Cid and Cait Sith looked on in awe.   
Red and Vincent walked over to them.   
"Good move," Vincent complimented.   
"It's not like I exactly knew that would happen," Cid admitted. "But I guess it was a pretty good thing I did it."   
"This is a very interesting creature," Red commented. "I must study it sometime. Completely immune to all form of attack except those of the ice affinity."   
As he spoke, however, something strange began to happen. The beast that lay defeated behind them suddenly began to quiver, and then it began to pull itself upright, still encased in the icy shell that now enveloped it. Finally it stood as it had before, an icy statue full of deadly life.   
"Behind ya!" Cid shouted as the beast stood up again. Everyone whirled around to see the beast suddenly rear up on its hind legs and then charge insanely toward the group. Before anyone did anything, though, Red took action. "Ifrit!" he called in a great voice, and the area around them turned an intense, firey red as the mighty Summoned Beast of fire blazed up from the depths of the earth. He charged up his energy for a moment, flames billowing all over his red hot body, and then, like a giant fireball, rushed at the beast, which had stopped its own charge after being startled by the sudden firey being.   
Ifrit's flames had a starnge effect on the creature. It began to go crazy, convulsing as though it were having a siezure, and then its body slowly began to mealt away. The companions saw that the beast had actually become one giant walking mass of ice- it wasn't just covered by the stuff anymore.   
Soon, nothing remained of the creature but a simple puddle of steaming water. Cid shook his head in amazement.   
"Now that's one wierd thing," he commented in awe.   
"Excellent move, Red," Vincent complemented.   
"Allright," said Cait Sith, "Let's get toward Junon. Cid, can you walk on that leg?"   
"I'll be allright," Cid nodded. "It's not broken. If you'll all just go a little slower, I should be fine."   
"Okay," Cait Sith said dubiously. "Onward ho."   
  
By the end of the day, Cid wasn't fine. He was lagging farther and farther, and consequently their progress was slower and slower. He insisted he could carry his own weight; besides, how else would it be carried? Finally, though, just as the sun was beginning to set, Cid dropped the ground, unable to stand.   
"It's okay, just gimme a moment and I'll get up," he told everyone when they crowded around.   
"Oh no you don't," Cait Sith said determinedly. "You're getting pulled the rest of the way. That leg isn't going to carry you at all."   
"Can't we just cast cure on it or somethin?" Cid asked grumpily.   
"That won't work for a specific injury that bad," Cait Sith shook his head. "It only heals weakness and fleshwounds."   
"How will we manage to carry him?" Red asked skeptically.   
"Yeah," said Cid.   
"We'll make a sled-type thingy," Cait Sith decided. "It shouldn't be too hard. We'll just... umm... I dunno, actually."   
"Slight problem," Vincent mused, thoughtfully scratching his chin through the mask he wore.   
"If only there were more raw materials around here, we could probably do it, but this area is too barren," said Red.   
"Maybe I'll just crawl," Cid said sarcastically.   
"I wouldn't advise that," said Cait Sith. "Don't worry, we'll think of something."   
It was then that the low rumble of a helicopter could be heard in the distance. The companions suddenly turned towards this new sign of hope in eager anticipation, hoping that the vehicle would see them and give them passage to Junon.   
The funny thing was that the helicopter seemed to be getting lower, and heading right towards them. As it drew closer, it became evident that the chopper had already known they were there, and was intending to meet them. Then, they realized it was not just one chopper, but seven! Seven of the whirring vehicles began to make a circle around the companions.   
"Shinra," Red whispered ominously as the choppers grew close enough for the Shinra Inc. logo to be clearly visible on each chopper.   
Suddenly, a booming voice came from one of the helicopters: "Drop your weapons now and give yourselves up!" it yelled. The doors of each chopper opened, and inside each one sat a Shinra soldier at a mounted machine gun turret.   
"I'll waste them!" Cid exclaimed. He may not be able to use his leg, but he could still use Materia. "Bolt3!" he yelled.   
The rain of lightning bolts that followed was tremendous, since Cid's All Materia was causing the Lightning one to attack all enemies in the area. But the results were nothing. The bolts were flung aside by some unkown force before they made contanct, causing them to slam harmlessly into the sandy ground and vanish.   
"Damn," Cid muttered, "They musta already started usin those shields!"   
"This is the last time we will tell you," the loudspeaker voice said irritably. "Drop your weapons and surrendur."   
"We don't have a choice," Cait Sith sighed in defeat. He threw his megaphone to the ground. Vincent nodded, and tossed the Death Penalty beside it.   
"Cut that out!" Cid yelled. "We'll fight 'em!"   
"Not with you in that condition," Red shook his head. "We'll have to agree to their terms."   
"What about the others?!" Cid argued.   
"I pray they can make it back to the Chocobo farm if they can't reach Shinra HQ," Red replied. He took Cid's spear and tossed it in the pile. The Shinra troops came cuatiously out of their helicopters, always watching the companions and keeping their rifles aimed at them, and then they quickly took the weapons.   
"Each of you get into one helicopter," the loudspeaker voice instructed.   
"One of us is unable to walk," Red called out.   
There was a brief silence, then the voice said, "The ones who can walk will get into one helicopter each, and then we will bring the wounded one to his own."   
They did as they were told. As soon as they were all inside, the soldiers came out and carried Cid on a stretcher to the helicopter. When he was in, the doors closed, and the companions felt themselves rising above the ground.   
Cid lay on his stretcher feeling aweful. They had failed to get a ship, and now the others would be lost out there. And to top it all off, he may never get to fly again if he didn't get out of this mess fast.   
  
Admiral Kalakran of the Junon Corporate Fleet of Shinra was in a very good mood when he was told that four members of AVALANCHE had been captured. The Shinra had been attempting to apprehend all eight of them for a long time, and then their numbers had recently increased to twelve as a widely known criminal named Hanshi Terakata as well as the former "turks", Shinra's once-feared special agents, had unexpectadly joined up with them. There was also the mysterious dissapearance of the Ancient, the girl that Shinra had been chasing from the beginning, who was also rumored to have been collaborating with AVALANCHE- where had they hidden her? Supreme General Ashroth had been dying to know the answer to that. He still believed she could be of use to Shinra. Both these objectives could be completed in one stroke- all he had to do was capture one or more members of AVALANCHE, and the others would flock to him in return for their safety. Even the Ancient would have to come to him, lest her friends be killed.   
And Kalakran, he was the one who would finally deliver four members of AVALANCHE to Ashroth. He would be showered with wealth for the next few years, no doubt, and he'd also be on Ashroth's good side- a very, very good place to be.   
He had ordered for the outlaws to be brought forth immediately when they arrived at the base, and was pleased to see them led into the room, one of them limping pathetically, all chained up and helpless. The legendary AVALANCHE, the warriors who had apparently defeated the great Sephiroth, were now helpless before him. It was quite a good feeling.   
"Well," he mused, "It appears that I've got myself some rather valuable hostages. Do you know that there are over seventy bounty hunters after each one of your hides right now, and I'm the one who gets to turn you in to Supreme General Ashroth? It's quite a priveledge, you know. You should be proud."   
"Of course we're proud that we're more valuable to Ashroth than you are," Vincent said smoothly. Cid had to force himself not to laugh, especially since this Shinra peakock, whoever he was, was having a hard time dealing with a wit ten times as quick as his own.   
Kalakran collected himself and tried to look intelligent while he thought up a decent comeback. "At least I'm useful to him alive instead of dead," he retorted finally.   
"So you're saying that we're more useful dead than you are alive," Vincent shrugged immediately. "Well, I'm honored."   
Kalakran's nostriles flared. "Do you have any idea who you're talking to?!" he raged. "I could have you killed any time I want!"   
"Well, I'm not too worried about that, because I'll still be more valuable than you in that condition."   
Cid was having to summon every ounce of self-control he had by now. Even Red was amused- he looked up at Vincent with a broad grin, seeing that Vincent was constantly absorbing this man's personality, coming up with more and more ways to anger him, but not bring him to the final extent of his temper. Red always enjoyed watching Vincent's extreme perceptiveness at work- it was an amazing thing.   
Kalakran ignored Vincent's last statement with some effort. "Well, I suppose we'd better introduce ourselves," he said. "I am Admiral Kalakran of the Junon Corporate Fleet of Shinra, master of the city of Junon and ruler of the seas of this planet. Now how important do you feel, scum?"   
"Actually, I feel magnificent if I'm more important than the master of the seas, especially if I still am when I'm dead," Vincent said nonchalantly. If Kalakran wasn't eager to keep them alive so that Ashroth could use them as bait, he would have snapped and shot each one of them there- but, for all his lack of wit, he was at least a strong-willed man.   
"Just tell me who you are," he grated.   
"My name is Vincent Valentine, ex-turk and proud member of the saviors of the Planet, AVALANCHE," Vincent said exquisitely.   
"Cid Highwind," Cid said shortly. "An I ain't much for intelligent conversation, so if ya try throwin some of that incredible wit my way, I'll just curse ya out."   
"Some know me as Nanaki, my friends call me Red XIII," said Red. "I am the guardian of Cosmo Canyon as well as a member of AVALANCHE."   
"I'm Cait Sith, or in reality, a former Shinra executive named Reeve. You may remember me, actually."   
Kalakran seemed startled at that. "Reeve? Is that really you?"   
"Yes, I'm afraid it is," said Cait Sith. "But I'm not here- Cait Sith is. I'm somewhere totally different, controlling Cait Sith by remote, and there's nothing you can do to cut off the connection, either."   
"I see," said Kalakran. "Torch that one immediately." The guards lit Cait Sith on fire, and he burned with a big smile on his face, happily waving his hand.   
"Stay tuned for Cait Sith No. 3," was the final sentance of Cait Sith No. 2.   
  
Cid was shoved roughly into a small cell next to a shabby, dirty, and rather glum-looking adolescant with wild, uncut hair and eyes that burned like fire. He was a little startled at the amount of maturity in those eyes- like this kid had seen, heard, and experienced things that made him far more adult than most boys his age.   
"What're you doin here?" he asked, slightly startled.   
The kid looked up at him and raised one eyebrow. "I dunno," he said quietly, "I just sorta thought it might be fun to live in jail for a while."   
"I meant what did ya do," Cid rolled his eyes.   
"I didn't do nothin," the kid shrugged, still in that quiet whisper. "It's a free world, but these guys seem to think they make the laws everywhere. They're just a company... sheesh."   
"You hit the nail on the head," Cid nodded. "I know what you're talkin about, I'm in AVALANCHE."   
The kid looked at him dubiously. "I don't really care about AVALANCHE," he said nonchalantly.   
"Well... we did sorta save the whole planet," Cid said, slightly offended at the lack of recognition for his acomplishment.   
"So what," shrugged the kid.   
Cid began to get mad. "So without us, you wouldn't be alive!" he raged.   
The kid looked at him with an increasingly dissatisfied expression. "So, looking at me now, you actually get the impression that I want to live? You're either high on something or incredibly imaginative."   
Cid didn't really know what to say to that. He was a simple guy- fly, smoke, and do the right thing was all he'd ever lived by- and psychological things weren't up his ally at all. "Well, that sucks fer you," he said lamely. "What's yer name?"   
"Ashroth," he said bluntly. Cid jumped.   
"Uhh... are you sure about that?"   
Now the boy looked amused. "Of course. Boo, I'm the Supreme General of Shinra Incorporated."   
"Uh-huh," said Cid, convinced the kid was off his rocker. He was even more sure of that when the youth suddenly burst into hysterical laughter.   
"Oh, you're great," he said in the high-pitched, pubescant voice that Cid had originally expected. "Man, I can fool with the head of every bimbo who comes in here. Hi, my name's Andrew. I got tossed in here cuz I cursed at Ashroth." He laughed maliciously. "Man, what a loser!"   
Cid was taken aback once again. "Uhh... yeah," he said, still unsure if this was actually who the kid was, or if he was putting on another show. "When did you meet Ashroth?"   
"Oh, he was giving some stupid public announcement in Junon about how he was going to revive the company and all that," Andrew said, making a face of contempt. "The sad part is everybody seemed all enraptured in what he said. It was retarded. The guy wouldn't even look at the crowd! He just sort of stared into space."   
"So you yelled curses at him?" Cid almost laughed.   
"Sure," Andrew shrugged. "Why not? He was a big ass, and I didn't really wanna just let him get total support from the crowds."   
"But didn't ya know you'd get in trouble?" Cid asked, now in the conversation for the entertainment of it all.   
"Yeah," Andrew shrugged, "But I don't care. My parents are a couple of Shinra puppets who make over a million a year, so life pretty much sucked anyway."   
"What?" Cid asked in confusion. "I thought being rich was supposed to be a good thing!"   
"Hah!" Andrew scoffed. "Maybe for some people, but not for me. My parents were never around, and all the kids in school hated me because I was so much richer than them. I didn't even want to ride in to school in a limo, but they made me!"   
"Sucks," Cid said mellowly.   
"Yeah. So who are you?"   
"Cid Highwind," said Cid.   
"Is that where AVALANCHE's airship gets its name?" Andrew asked curiously.   
"Yeah," Cid nodded. "I actually designed that ship. Not many people know about it, though, cuz I left to be part of the space program before it was done, so I never got any credit for it. Don't really care, though."   
"Well, you're never gonna fly again, just warnin ya," Andrew changed the subject. "You sure won't get outa this hellhole."   
"Eh, I'll figure out one way or another," Cid shrugged. "I gotten outa tighter scrapes than this before. Although I guess I didn't have a busted up leg then."   
"Yeah?" Andrew seemed interested. "Like what?"   
"Well," Cid scratched at his chin, thinking back on his quest to stop Meteor. "One time, me, Red, an' Barret were tryin ta stop a Shinra train from gettin inta Corel. We took the train, but then we couldn't figure out how ta stop it. Almost crashed inta Corel, but I managed ta stop it before it did. That's just one example."   
"Sounds like you had a good time stopping Shinra from destroying the Planet," Andrew commented.   
Cid looked puzzled. "Where'd ya hear it was Shinra doin that?"   
Andrew shrugged. "That's what everybody says. It was Shinra, wasn't it? I thought that they were the bad guys-"   
Cid shook his head. "They were at first. But after a while, it got much more important to stop a maniac named Sephiroth."   
"Really? But I thought Sephiroth dissapeared-"   
"Ya got that right," Cid nodded, "But then he came back as a buncha clones, and he was controlling them from inside a chunk of crystalized Mako. Only his mind was still alive. But he was the guy sendin' Meteor, not Shinra."   
"So Cloud Strife didn't really impale Rufus Shinra?" Andrew asked dissapointedly.   
Cid looked startled again. He was startled- there were a lot more twists to this story than he had realized. It would never be told accurately if he didn't do it now.   
"You seem ta have a lotta things wrong," Cid mused. "Allright buddy, I'll start from the beginnin."   
Andrew looked excited. "Sweet!" he shouted.   
"Keep in mind I didn't join for a while, so all the stuff until I come in is second hand," Cid warned. Then he began to tell the story of what he and the others had done in full detail for the first time. It was sort of fun, to see Andrew getting such a satisfied look of understanding on his face.   
"I never heard it that way," he marveled when the story was done.   
"That's the way it really happened," Cid concluded.   
Before any more words could be spoken, a guard walked up to the cell and opened the door. A squad stood behind him.   
"Cid Highwind, you have been sentenced by the Supreme Court of Shinra and Supreme General Keer Ashroth to be executed in exactly thirty minutes. You are to proceed, accompanied by myself and my squad, to the execution chamber immediately, where you will watch the executions of your companions as well. Come."   
Cid refused to respond, but the guards walked in and grabbed him roughtly. He certainly wasn't in any condition to fight, he didn't have any weapons or armor, and he was outnumbered. There was nothing he could do. Andrew watched him get dragged off with fearful eyes. If I ever get outa this, I gotta come back and rescue that kid, Cid thought to himself.   
  
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Sepheros had been having strange dreams. His Sephiroth side was dominating him more than ever. He was not Sephiroth, and he did not want to become wholy Sephiroth; he knew that in the end, he could not, but he could become so dominated by Sephiroth's personality that he would be almost the same as Sephiroth. Sephiroth was him, but he was not Sephiroth, and he wanted to keep it that way- he had his own personality, his own thoughts, his own feelings even; to be dominated by Sephiroth would be to lose himself.   
But even so, he was obedient to Sephiroth, because Sephiroth was his ruling personality, and he had chosen it that way, not because of prepherance, but because Sephiroth had the strongest mind of any of the minds that made up Sepheros's mind. But the price was that Sephiroth controlled him.   
  
And in his dreams, he was beginning to realize the driving force behind his own creation, and the intentions of Sephiroth.   
And he finally knew who his real enemy was. Although Sephiroth hated Cloud Strife, he was not the true enemy. The true enemy was the one who could bring Cloud Strife to his full potential- the one who he had thought he was rid of long ago, but who haunted him with even more power now. The one named Aeris Gainsborough.   
This woman of seemingly impossible power was a constant thorn in Sephiroth's side. The Plan was being countered by her own plan, and it would result in a destructive meeting that put all of Sephiroth's intentions at stake. That was why he had harnessed his father's brilliance to create Sepheros. Sepheros had been made as a backup weapon, an incredibly powerful backup weapon that could help Sephiroth achieve his goals without having to battle Aeris on even ground should he be killed before Meteor hit the Planet. Meteor was done now, and the larger force- that which spawned both Meteor and Holy- was the goal. Sephiroth had not known it until he had been made a Sage of the LifeStream, but now its full powers were revealed to him, and that had been what revised his plans of using Sepheros. Originally, the clone of billions of minds had been created to seek out Meteor and re-attempt to wound the Planet with it; but now, he was to break the plan of Sephiroth's rival, Aeris, in order to ensure that Sephiroth's own plan was successful. And if he was unable to do that, to help Sephiroth get around Aeris. And the only way to do so, because Aeris was millions times more powerful than Sepheros was, was to destroy one of her tools, Cloud, or either of the other two. But Cloud was the ideal, because Sephiroth had no grudge against the others- he did not even know who they were yet, although he would soon, he expected. So, because he was Sephiroth, Sepheros wanted to kill Cloud the most, and would use every method possible to do that. Thus Sephiroth had agreed to focus on hiding Sepheros's new weapon from Aeris as long as was possible. How long that would be, Sephiroth did not know, for he and Aeris were equally powerful, both among the highest level of Sages of the LifeStream. Sepheros would have to work fast, and to do that, he needed Hojo. He had formed an alliance with the madman, the father of his father, his own father; an agreement known only to them. And when he was done with Hojo, he would kill him.   
Sepheros was ready to put together his new weapon with the help of Hojo, finally. And soon, Cloud would be killed, because there was no way he could escape this weapon.   
  
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Cid knew that if he didn't get out of here fast, he and the others would be killed. At least Reeve could tell them something, but they'd never know they'd been killed. Or perhaps Shinra would broadcast it, and then everyone would know.   
He was lead into the execution room at Junon, the very same one he'd been to ages ago when he and the others were going to be executed during the quest to stop Sephiroth. Funny how he would die here anyway, after all that. But at least he'd stopped Meteor, so his life had a purpose.   
They were told to keep utterly silent, and knew it was in their best interests to do so. Cid sat and watched as Vincent was taken from his seat and lead up to the electric chair. This was it. The end was near. Cid shut his eyes as the Vincent was strapped to the chair. He did not look nervous before Cid stopped looking; he wasn't sure how the young warrior's face looked when the electricity started, but Cid could hear the horrible sound of the voltage seeping through Vincent's body. He started imagining being a chunk of LifeStream. It sounded pretty boring.   
But then, all at once, the buzzing stopped. There were noises- guards yelling, and gunshots. Cid opened his eyes suddenly. There, to his astonishment, was Andrew, and he was casting spells on the Shinra guards! They tried to fire back at him, but he'd cast Shield, and their bullets did nothing. An alarm went off.   
"Andrew!" Cid shouted in amazement. "Where did you-?"   
"My name's not Andrew, it's Denny," said Andrew, who was now Denny. "And there's no time to explain. Let's get you guys out of here before they bring in SOLDIER."   
He grabbed a key off one of the fallen bodies of the guards, whose chest had been blown open by Flare, and quickly undid the chains that held Cid and Red down, then freed Vincent from the chair and promptly cast Cure 3 on him, healing the effects of the shocking.   
"That was quite an odd experience," Vincent commented.   
"We have to go now!" Denny shouted. "Let's go!"   
Instead of running for the doorway, though, he cast Quake 3 on the wall that overlooked the Junon Bay, and charged for it. "Jump!" he shouted, "And slide down the slanted walls of Junon! You'll be okay!"   
It was crazy, but Cid realized it was really their only chance of getting out. But he had to find their weapons and Materia, so he would be back.   
The three companions jumped out the hole in the wall as Denny advised. It was surprisingly easy to safely slide down to the the ground below. Unfortunately, Target Walkers, the latest in robotic security for Shinra, were already heading towards them, blazing their machine guns and preparing to launch missiles.   
"What do we do about those?" Red asked.   
"We let him play with them," Denny shrugged, and cast Ramuh. The gigantic form of mighty Ramuh burst up from the ground, lightning blazing from his staff and short-cuircuting the walkers, causing them to explode.   
"You are one amazing kid," Cid shook his head.   
"You're not the only one who can fight Shinra," Denny replied. "Let's go."   
"We need to find our weapons and Materia first," Cid argued.   
"What do you think I've been using to fight all these guys?" Denny grinned back at him. They ran off.   
They were running across the port area when a battallion of Shinra guards saw them and began to run after them, firing their assault rifles and chucking grenades. Fortunately, they weren't particularly good aimers with those grenades.   
Then, Cid spotted what could be their saving grace- a large tank. "Get in there!" he yelld, pointing at the armored vehicle. Denny nodded at him, and they ran for the tank.   
Cid was the last in. "Any idea how ta drive this thing?" he asked to everyone in general.   
Vincent nodded. "They taught us how to drive these in the turks," he said.   
Cid had forgotten that Vincent used to be a member of the turks over the course of their adventures, and he now realized how useful that fact could be. Vincet may be able to reveal important information about Shinra that they'd never known. He stored the information away in case of need.   
Vincent proved to be miraculously adept at piloting the huge machine. His memories must have been very strong- thirty years in a coffin would be enough to lose half the ability to speak for most people, and Vincent was one of the most well-spoken people Cid knew. He was an amazing fellow sometimes, although Cid still didn't know him very well, and niether did anyone else.   
Needless to say, the Shinra guards weren't very effective at taking the armored tank out, and they rolled out of there with speed.   
"To the ports," Cid said. "We're finally gettin outa here."   
"Not a chance," Denny shook his head.   
"What?!" Cid practically hit the kid.   
"I can't leave until I finish everything I was sent to do. I've only done half of that."   
"And what exactly does the other half consist of?" asked Red.   
"I have to shut down the Shinra fleet," said Denny. "They're going to send everything at Junon to Wu Tai in a week. If we don't stop that, it'll turn the tides of the battle. Wu Tai's navy is rather pathetic. If this fleet gets there, they won't stand a chance against it, and Shinra can keep the whole continent under siege."   
"Who the fuck sent you, boy?!" Cid practically screamed.   
"I work for... a rather unique organization," Denny said uneasily. "You're probably not really ready to find out about it."   
"But you're just a kid!" Cid argued. "What kind of an organization sends teenagers to do its dirty work?"   
"I imagine no organization does," Denny shrugged. "Allright, this isn't going to work if I don't unveil myself now."   
Cid was about to respond with another quip, but he stopped in amazement as Denny's body slowly began to wriggle around like jello. His clothes seemed to merge with his body, which was turning blue, and out of that mass came dark gray chain armor, and then, even more strangely, a pair of bat-like wings. He finally stopped his odd shape-shifting, and when the miraculous change was done, he no longer stood on the ground but hovered softly above it by about a foot, not using his wings, but some unseen, gravity-defying force held him. His body was completely blue and he wore powerful looking chain male. His face was the most astonishing- it looked mostly human, except that his features were sharper and his ears looked more like bat's wings. His body was very powerfully built, although not any taller than he had been before- about three fourths of Cid's height. However, he was still mostly at face level with Cid because of his levitation trick.   
"I am aproximately 500 years old in your time," said Denny. "My real name is Devonan."   
"Damn," Cid said in amazement.   
"Most peculiar," Red mused.   
"You both should have guessed," Vincent said carelessly.   
"What?!" Cid freaked out again. "Why the hell would we be able to see that he's some wierd gargoyle thing?!"   
"Shiniji," said Devonan.   
"What?"   
"I am a Shiniji."   
Vincent broke in again. "It was obvious he was not truly human because no human boy of that age could possibly perform the feats he did, and didn't you see that his running speed was aided by slight levitational capabilities? I didn't know he was a Shiniji, whatever that may be, but I knew he wasn't human. I am living proof that a creature can appear human yet be something else on the inside. You should be more alert."   
Red smiled. "You are wise, Vincent, but not in the way you think you are."   
Vincent disregarded him.   
Cid turned back to Devonan. He hated it when these two got all intelectual, so he decided to try and figure out what was up with this "Shiniji".   
"So what exactly are you?" he asked.   
"I am quite similar to you humans, really," Devonan shrugged. "I am a Shiniji. We are beings who live many times the life of one of you, but do not reproduce even a fraction of the speed. There are probably no more of us than 20 in this world, and we are thriving."   
"Must suck," Cid commented.   
"Not really," Devonan shook his head. "We do not know the need for companionship like you humans do. We do what we must do, and that is all."   
"So what is it that you do?" Red asked.   
"We do whatever the Planet asks of us," said Devonan. "You may even have seen one of us before but not known it, as we are skillful shapeshifters, but only in our own size. That was why I appeared to you as a youngster- I simply could not look older."   
"You can communicate with the Planet?" Red asked, now seeming more interested in this than Cid was. Cid wasn't sure if Vincent was paying attention; he was busy avoiding Shinra troops, but could have been paying attention. anyway. Who knew what Vincent was capable of?   
Devonan shook his head. "The Planet can only communicate with us. We do as it asks, but cannot ask anything of it, or tell it anything. We believe we were probably created for the sake of serving the Planet, but do not know for sure."   
"So the Planet told you to rescue us and destroy the Junon fleet?" asked Cid.   
"Correct," Devonan affirmed. "And I could probably use your help."   
"Well..." Cid mused. "I suppose that we can't let Wu Tai get wasted by those things."   
"Excellent," said Devonan. "Vincent, head for the docks. There's a hidden stash of explosives there."   
"Right," Vincent confirmed.   
"Did you store them there beforhand?" Red asked curiously   
"A friend of mine did," Devonan shook his head. "His name is Tyrot. He should be joining us when we get there."   
"So do you guys have like magic or something?" Cid asked.   
"Without the aid of Materia, we can't cast our own magic spells," Devonan shook his head, "But we have our own ways of battling the forces of evil."   
Great, though Cid. Another serious, mystical person to talk to. Even Cait Sith was better conversation than a combination of Vincent, Red, and some strange floating magical being. He liked it better when Devonan was just Andrew.   
"This really isn't the time for small talk," Vincent reminded them as the ground outside the cramped tank shook with the force of some kind of explosive weapon.   
"Looks like they're chuckin' grenades at us again," Cid said, his reverie broken. He climbed up and peered out of the turret of the tank, and saw that the Shinra were now chasing them in other tanks.   
"I think I can take care of this," he muttered. He held his spear high in the air, summoned a great portion of power, and released the waves of energy that called to Bahamut as strongly as possible, causing him to appear in his most powerful form, Bahamut Zero.   
The tanks only managed to fire off a couple of rounds before they were consumed by the deadly, pinpoint-accurate blast of the mighty dragon lord, but they had been hit. Vincent brough the tank to a careening halt as fast as he could, and the four of companions leapt out.   
"We should be pretty near the hiding place," Devonan said, and he hovered off. The others ran after him, keeping an eye out for the next wave of Shinra attackers.   
Devonan led them to the edge of the Junon Port, where he floated down and along the edge until he came to a small hole in the structure. He reached in and removed several small devices, then carried them back up to his new allies.   
"Those things are gonna destroy the whole fleet?" Cid asked skeptically.   
"These are some of the most powerful explosive charges ever made in this size," Devonan reassured him. We need only to plant each one of them at the required mark. My friend has put a large X on each of the spots. But we must first escape and then wait until nightfall. They will be looking for us at this point."   
"And we're gonna have a nice long chat, too," Cid agreed. "Let's get outa here."   
"Going somewhere without me?" asked a new voice from behind the group. They whirled around to be confronted by another creature similar to Devonan. This one's winds were smaller and his face looked a little more animalistic, but he was built basically the same way- the biggest difference was that his skin was a deep shade of rade, as opposed to Devonan's light blue.   
"I almost thought you wouldn't show up, Keveki," Devonan smiled at him.   
"Would I go back on my word?" asked the new Shiniji who was apparently named Keveki. "I trust these are the members of AVALANCHE who were taken here?"   
Devonan nodded. "We've no time for introductions. Let's go."   
Though Cid was curious and his head was packed with questions, he submitted. There wasn't any point in hanging around here, and so they crept away from the port area and into the depths of Junon.   
  
Ashroth's forehead glistened with beads of sweat, his muscles undulated with an almost inhuman power, his concentration focused utterly on one thing and one thing only, destroying the imaginary opponents that surrounded him. He dodged left and right, weaving inbetween their various attacks, performing techniques that most normal men could not even dream of doing; he would leap into the air upside down, spin around with his legs outstretched, and then land on his feet; or he would perform a similar motion revolving on his head alone, or he would run against the wall with such speed that he could run up it halfway and leap all the way around to come down behind an opponent who was chasing him.   
He was abruptly interupted, however, by the buzzing of his intercom. Annoyed, but knowing that it was probably important, Ashroth stopped his relentless training and went to the intercom. He pressed the button to allow the person on the other line to speak with him, and was greeted by the voice of Lora, his secretary.   
"Sorry to bother you, sir, but there's some rather important news you may want to hear," she said nervously.   
"And that is?"   
"I don't know, I was told that by the man who wants to see you."   
"Who is that?"   
"I don't know."   
"What?!" Ashroth was furious. "How did he get all the way up here?!"   
"It could have something to do with the fact that he's a Taian ninja who's holding a knife to my head right now, sir," she squirmed.   
"I see," Ashroth smiled. "Send him in."   
About ten seconds later, Ashroth was greeted by a large, powerfully built main in nothing but tan-colored ninja stealth clothing, who carried a rather extensive arsenal of weaponry.   
"What do you want?" asked Ashroth.   
"My name is Tyshaner Ko Tenjetsu, and I have a message for you from my master."   
"Why didn't you come in the normal way instead of threatening my secretary?" Ashroth asked without looking at the ninja. Unlike most people, this fellow was not bothered by the fact that Ashroth did that. The general wondered to himself if people assumed that was why he never looked at anyone.   
"I would not have been permitted to see you."   
"I see," Ashroth replied in an uncaring tone. "Well, under normal circumstances I'd kill you here and now, but the fact that you made it this far interests me. What do you have to say?"   
"My master is a wealthy man of Wu Tai who goes by the name of Kul'Rann Jinn," the ninja said robitically. "I deliver to you this message."   
The ninja tossed a small sphere to Ashroth, and he caught it without looking at it. "A message sphere, I see," Ashroth muttered. "Your master must be wealthy indeed if he can afford this kind of technology."   
The ninja didn't reply. Obviously, he cared only for acomplishing his mission and not making idle chat. Ashroth admired that in a man, but still found this ninja annoying as he did with most overly serious people. Ashroth did not have a good sense of humor, but he didn't like people who tried to act tough by being silent types. He would teach this ninja a lesson when he had seen the message, assuming he did not need to keep him alive for some reason.   
Ashroth flipped the switch, and the sphere caused the room to appear as a blank, utterly black area with a middle-aged man in strangely patterned Taian robes standing in front of him.   
"Supreme General Keer Ashroth of Shinra, Incorporated, I presume?" he began in a slow, polite tone.   
"I am. And I assume you are Kul'Rann Jinn, a wealthy man who wishes to do some sort of business with me."   
"I am as you speak. First, do you know of the legend of Meteo, Ashroth?"   
Ashroth snorted. "I've heard of it before, but if you ask me it's all just bullshit. Ultima is the all powerful Materia, and everyone knows that."   
"Meteo exists," Kul'Rann said firmly.   
"And how exactly would you know that?" Ashroth asked, not looking at the apparition.   
"I have connections," Kul'Rann said simply. "But whether I am right or wrong does not concern you in the deal I propose. I have formed a specialized congregation in Wu Tai dedicated to reviving the power of Meteo. This powerful spell could mean the ability for me to overthrow Wu Tai. I assume you remember the method legend states for obtaining Meteo?"   
Ashroth nodded. "Apparently the Planet releases it in a time of great need. But it only does so if such is in its best interests."   
"That time is approaching," Kul'Rann said ominously. "The Planet will soon release Meteo, and I will obtain it then. But you must assist me by helping to plunge the world into a state of warfare."   
"I see," Ashroth mused, "And what do I get in return for this?"   
"Two things," Kul'Rann said in a businesslike manner. "First, I will assist you in financing the construction of your new city in Mideel. I understand you could use this."   
"I certainly could," Ashroth nodded. Even though Shinra was still a relatively rich company, they were only a shade of the former glory of the company, and a huge city that would be even greater than Midgar was an extremely expensive project.   
"The second part of the deal is that I can assist you in dealing with the members of AVALANCHE," Kul'Rann explained.   
"I already have them taken care of," Ashroth said smugly. "The thing about them is that once you have one, you have them all. It's just a matter of waiting for them to turn themselves in."   
Kul'Rann smiled at him. "On the contrary, Ashroth," he said. "My sources in Junon tell me that they have already escaped."   
Ashroth slammed his fist down on his desk, which, because he had been sitting at it, was the only physical object in the room that was part of the apparition that simulated a meeting between the two leaders.   
"How do you know this?!" he demanded.   
"I have sources," Kul'Rann said with an annoying grin. "Just call up the prisonkeeper and ask."   
Ashroth, fuming, but never looking at Kul'Rann in the midst of his anger, pressed a button on the intercom on his desk. "Yessir!" the voice on the other end snapped to attention.   
"Have the AVALANCHE prisoners escaped?!" Ashroth fumed.   
"Well..." the prisonkeeper sounded very uneasy. "Well, you see sir, it was sort of like this..." Ashroth slammed his fist down on the intercom, destroying it and cutting off the voice of the frightened prisonkeeper.   
"You have a deal," he told Kul'Rann grumpily.   
Kul'Rann smiled wickedly. "I thought you'd agree." The conference ended.   
"Lora!" Ashroth yelled. His secretary came running in.   
"Get me a new intercom," Ashroth grumbled.   
"Yes sir," Lora nodded. She ran out and returned shortly with a brand new intercom, which she placed carefully on Ashroth's desk.   
"Good," he said. "Now go."   
She nodded and left. Ashroth pressed the same button, connecting to the prisonkeeper again.   
"Get your ass up here, prisonkeeper," he growled.   
"Sir, if you just let me explain-"   
"I said get your ass the fuck up here, or I'll come down there and pull it up myself!"   
"Yessir," the voice said meekly. Five minutes later the prisonkeeper walked humbly through the door.   
"You called me, sir?" he asked meekly.   
Ashroth stood up and looked right at the man's face. The prisonkeeper screamed and his body burst into blue flames, writhing and vibrating violently on the ground, until he was melted into a pile of human sludge.   
  
"Allright, we need one bomb on each of the three largest ships in their fleet," Devonan instructed. "I'll go with Cid, since his leg is in bad condition. Red and Vincent will each place their bombs on one of the ships."   
Everyone nodded. Night had fallen and the time was approaching when they must carry out their deeds. This wasn't how things were supposed to go, but it was important that they do this for the sake of Wu Tai- besides, it would put a major hurt on Shinra.   
They split up at midnight. Security guards patrolled the landscape, but for Red, that was no problem. His low stature enabled him to duck behind places a human would not have been able to to stay hidden, and when a soldier did find him, all he had to do was make a quick lunge at their throat for a silent take-down that probably wouldn't alert any of the guards. He managed to slink across the dock and onto the ship he was supposed to place the bomb on without much trouble.   
Once onboard, things were different. There were more guards on the ship and not as much space to hide in, since it was closer quarters. He slunk across the deck, jumped behind a crate so that a guard wouldn't see him, and was surprised to hear an alarm going off. Well, that was just fine. He leapt through a window in the wall next to him and unwittingly landed right on the bridge.   
"Hey! What the hell is that?!" yelled the captain. The two Shinra guards in the room opened fire. Red leapt to the side, then jumped forward in a great arch to the wall behind the soldiers, proceeding to rebound into the back of one in a spinning attack, then kick the other in the chest with his powerful hind legs. The one he's hit first got up and aimed his rifle, but a quick fire spell took him out. Red walked over to the captain.   
"You can jump off, or I can throw you off, either one is fine," he said calmly.   
The captiain ran.   
Red pulled the explosive device off his back and placed it squarely on the control panels that helped guide the ship. He would have two minutes to escape. That shouldn't be too hard. Red turned and ran toward the window, but more guards came in because of the alarm and began to fire at him.   
"Flare!" called Red. Tiny specks of flame began to converge around the soldiers, and before they knew what was happening, the spell had exploded into a blast of fire that sent them all flying against the walls of the room.   
Red leapt over the deck with machine gun fire blazing all around him. He was a very skillful swimmer, and just as he reached the dock again, the ship exploded in to a fury of towering flames, taking many of the surrounding boats with it. "That's one powerful bomb," he mused to himself.   
  
Vincent took the stealthy approach. He silently dipped into the water, then swam to the edge of the boat, where he grabbed a ladder on the side and slowly slunk up. He could not use the Death Penalty at this point, since it would be far too noisy and he didn't want to attract attention; instead, he hung at the edge of the ship until a guard walked by, then he leapt up and smashed the butt of the large gun into the back of the man's neck, knocking him out cold. Vincent stripped him of his clothes and tossed the body overboard, then dressed in the uniform. He would look a little suspicious with his abnormally long hair, but at least it would help a little.   
Creeping along the decks in the dark of the night, he found a door and stepped inside to end up in a small corridor with many doors on the sides. A guard was standing a few yards away from him; he might as well try the disguise.   
Vincent approached the man and asked in a quiet voice, "Could you direct me to the fuel tanks, please?"   
The Shinra guard looked over at him, and then, in surprise, yelled, "Who the hell are you?!" Vincent knew that the disguise had failed, and he quickly disarmed the man, then held him in a rear lock with his claw to the man's throat.   
"I want to know where the fuel tanks are, now," he demanded in a menacing tone. The fearful Shinra guard gulped and said, "Follow me."   
He led Vincent through the corridors and down several staircases to a large metal door far below deck. Two guards stood by it, but they lowered their weapons when they saw that Vincent had their comrade in captivity.   
He didn't show any mercy though; Mercy was not like Vincent. He quickly released two Ice spells that killed them quickly and savagely. He walked through the door, still holding the man in place, and saw a row of large tanks in the huge room. He tossed the man aside and started for them. But halfway towards the fuel tanks, he suddenly heard a blaring siren go off, and red lights began to flash on the walls. He looked back, and saw the man running quickly out of the door. He could hear the tramps of soldiers coming quickly down the stairs; he'd have to work fast. Tossing off the soldier's clothes and once again in his own clothes, he ran to the tanks and quickly attatched the bomb, then set it for two minutes. He would have to hope that the guards could not disable it in that time. They began charging into the room, but fortunately, they were hesitant to fire their rifles- a richocheting shot in here could blow them all to kingdom come. Vincent aimed a Flare spell at the wall, and blew a large, gaping hole in the side of the ship, then ran for it. Some of the guards decided to take the risk to fire at him. Vincnet leapt forward to escape the flying bullets, rolled, and came up firing. Every shot he fired took down one guard, and they began to take cover. He ran to the edge of the hole and leapt, leaving the guards firing their rifles in vain.   
Once in the water, he swam like hell. He guessed he probably had about a minute until the bomb went off. Fortunately, his powerful arms and legs took him to shore with great speed, and he watched the ship explode in a firey mushroom cloud from the docks, sending the surrounding ships up in flames with it. He had made it. He could only hope that Red and Cid would succeed as well.   
  
Cid's leg was hurting badly, but the mission was more important. He moved along the docks as swiftly as he could, Devonan floating effortlessly along behind him.   
"If you run into trouble, just use Ice magic on them," Devonan instructed.   
"Why?"   
"You'll see why."   
"Okay," Cid shrugged. He reached the plank leading up to the ship and slowly walked upward toward the deck. A guard was walking along nearby; Cid simply cast a normal Ice and took him out fairly quietly.   
"I didn't notice anything special," he said to Devonan.   
"You didn't need to that time," Devonan shrugged.   
Cid continued onto the deck of the ship. He soon found a doorway and walked through. Fortunately, Cid was into vehicles, and he knew a lot about ships in general; finding the tank room shouldn't be too hard.   
He slowly went down some stairs, his leg hurting more than ever now, and then a couple of guards he hadn't noticed saw him.   
"Hey! What's he doing here?!" yelled one of them. He opened fire immediately; Cid ducked behind a doorway.   
"Ice!" he yelled, and the guard screamed as the icy shards of the spell took him down. The other guard, however, immediately slammed his fist down on an alarm.   
"Shit," muttered Cid. He cast Ice on the other guard, too, but it was too late. He tried to make more progress towards the engine room, but his leg was too painful. He could go little faster than a slug with his leg like this. Soon, guards were upon him.   
"Use Ice 3!" Devonan commanded.   
"Fine," Cid said a little grudginly at being ordered around, "Ice 3."   
Cid felt something passing through him into the magic as he cast the spell, and when it was released, it was far more powerful than any Ice spell Cid had ever seen. It froze all the guards instantly. It had to have been at least as powerful as Ultima.   
Cid looked on in astonishment.   
"Come on, Cid!" Devonan yelled. "Let's go! We don't have much time till more come!"   
"Right," Cid shook off his shock, and continued towards the engine room. It was slow going, but by the time more guards found him, he had placed the bomb. Another Ice 3 took out the next group.   
"That's it," Devonan sighed, "I'm out of mana."   
"What?!" Cid cried. "Already?!"   
"Hey, you think that's easy to do? It takes a lot of power."   
Cid nodded. He'd have to get out of here fast- and unfortunately, that was not something his leg would let him do. He needed an alternative.   
"Bahamut!" he yelled. Fortunately, the chamber was large enough for Bahamut's massive body, and he blew a huge hole in the side of the wall. Cid hobbled toward the hole as fast as he could. There was about three minutes left on the bomb.   
But just as Cid got near the hole, a face he knew well leapt down from the platform above and in front of him. His posh white naval uniform was spotless, his hair slicked back, he was the ideal military man, and in his hand was a ruthless looking spear.   
"Cid Highwind," said Admiral Kalakran. "I see that you've pulled quite a stunt. Two thirds of my navy already destroyed, and you're about to try to destroy the last one. It's no wonder Rufus Shinra wanted you so bad, and that Ashroth does as well. You seem to be able to cause quite an uproar for so few people."   
"I sure can, and you sure as hell ain't stoppin me," Cid said defiantely. "Ice 3!"   
But to Cid's surprise, his spell went flying out the hole in the wall to dissapear harmlessly in the Junon Bay.   
"Tsk tsk," Kalakran shook his head sadly. "I'm afraid I've got one of your anti-mako devices as well. Shinra wasted no time in putting them into action. You'll have to go through me physically."   
"My pleasure," Cid shrugged. Though he pretended confidence, and though he was very skillful when it came to spearfighting, his leg almost guaranteed failure if Kalakran knew anything about it. He had to find some other way to do this. "On the other hand," he suddenly had an idea, "I know a different way ta get us out of this. My leg's busted, which means I don't stand a chance against you. Basically, I'm dead. Course, I could take you with me."   
Cid pointed at the bomb. "Remember," he cautioned, "I still got plenty a magic. A good bolt spell would make that little toy blow its top in a second."   
Kalakran went over this for a few seconds, and began to look genuinely worried.   
"On the other hand," Cid pretended he was thinking of this all just now, "There is a way we could both live. We could both just bail right now, since that thing's gonna go off real soon."   
"You're bluffing," Kalakran tried to sound scornful.   
"That a risk ya wanna take?" Cid asked nonchalantly.   
"I'm not done with you, Highwind," Kalakran said angrily, and leapt over the side of the boat. "We'll meet again!" he called as he fell.   
Cid scrambled to the hole and leapt. With Devonan helping him stay afloat, since he couldn't swim well with his busted leg, he made it back to the dock seconds before the firey explosion took the boat.   
"Right, let's get to your sub," Devonan said.   
Cid nodded. It was time to pilot the sub again. It would be just like the good old days. But in this case, that was not a good thing. If this whole ordeal turned into the Meteor incident again, Cid wasn't sure if he could take it. Those thoughts troubled him all the way to the sub.   
  
SHINRA HQ, TWO DAYS LATER   
  
"So you didn't tell them about when we approached you, right?" Hojo asked his acomplice from his lab desk.   
"Nope, left off right before that part," replied the acomplice.   
"And you did make genuine ones for them, right?"   
"Right," the acomplice acknowledged.   
"And you're absolutely positive you gave away nothing about your affiliation with Shinra?"   
"Completely," the acomplice nodded.   
"Allright. Your last name is Majorik from now on, remember that."   
"I do," nodded the acomplice. "How is- X?"   
"You may call him by his real name if you like," Hojo shrugged. "Just don?all it to his face. Anyway, he's coming along well. His rage is quite astonishing at certain points, though. He's a real fury machine. I don't blame him, of course. He even wants to kill Cloud now."   
"I assume he's not mad at me-"   
"Of course not. You're all he has left."   
"What about Cloud? I thought they were friends?"   
"They were," Hojo shrugged, "But I told him a false story about when the two of them escaped that changed everything he ever felt about spikey-ass."   
The acomplice nodded. "Good," he said. "I hate that dipshit. He could have helped him-"   
"He didn't want to be helped at the time," Hojo shrugged. "Besides, Cloud has a very high sense of nobility. He had to help the girl first. It would be right in his eyes."   
The acomplice nodded again. "I guess so. But still, I'll never get over the fact that he could have done something, but didn't."   
"Hojo!" a voice from Hojo's intercom interrupted their conversation with its screaming. Neither had been prepared for such a furious shout.   
"Yes sir?" Hojo asked emotionlessly. When Supreme General Keer Ashroth of Shinra Incorporated was yelling at you through an intercom, it was a very, very bad sign, even for Proffessor Hojo. In fact, it might even mean he wouldn't get to use Shinra to his own ends anymore, and that was an idea he really didn't like.   
"Get up here now!" the general yelled furiously. "And bring that dumbass who's working with you up here too!"   
"Yes sir," Hojo said, and flipped off his intercom. Then he turned it off. "Aers!" he yelled. "His royal nonchalance wants to see us."   
Aers "Majorik" walked out of his office into Hojo's lab. "Did he-?" Aers asked fearfully.   
"Probably," Hojo nodded. "I guess I should have anticipated he might."   
"But... I'm the one who'll..."   
"Actually, we both might," Hojo shrugged. "Or he might spare us. Ashroth is a moody and unpredictable man. Let's go."   
The two scientists walked along the corridors of the makeshift Shinra HQ in Mideel towards Ashroth's office. Hojo knocked.   
"Get in here, assholes," Ashroth roared from inside.   
Hojo and Aers stepped in.   
"Yes?" asked Hojo.   
"Well," Ashroth began, "There's a report I recieved that I thought might interest you. Two days ago, the three escaped members of AVALANCHE destroyed the remainder of our fleets at Junon. The interesting part is that apparently, they had working versions of the Mako deflector device. Would you care to explain what's going on here?"   
"I... musta..." Aers stuttered.   
"What did you do?" Hojo asked suspiciously.   
"Wha-?" Aers suddenly looked extremely confused.   
"WHAT must you have done?!" Ashroth raged.   
"I- must have-"   
"WHAT?!"   
"I must have made a mistake!"   
"Aers," Hojo asked with fury so well acted it looked completely genuine, "What on earth did you do that for? We had a deal!"   
"Apparently, someone is still mad at Shinra afterall," Ashroth said menacingly, but looking at his desk.   
"Well.... no! I-"   
"I'll leave him to you, sir," Hojo said, and walked out the door.   
"Hojo! Wait! You can't just-" The last sounds uttered by Aers "Majorik", brother of Zack, were agony-filled screams of pain as he died a torturous death.   
  
MIDGAR PLAINS, ABOUT THE SAME TIME   
  
"I hate bugs," Yuffie said viciously, swinging wildly around at the what seemed like the billionth mosquito that day. She, Tifa, Rude, and Hanshi had been traveling at a rather grueling pace for the last three days, desperately attempting to find a way around the frustratingly long gorge that Sepheros had created in his tantrum after being almost defeated by Cloud. As they walked alongside the huge deformation in the earth's crust, they would often glance down to the bottom of the canyon and see the vast flowing rivers of green, bubbly LifeStream that had been exposed to the fresh air of the surface.   
"Just ignore them," Tifa advised. "You'll catch on."   
"Or pretend that they're candy," Hanshi said in his aloof way. "Try to eat them! Show 'em who's boss!"   
"Yuck!" Yuffie practically screamed, even so there was laughter in her voice. "You're sick!"   
"I'm not sick," Hanshi shook his head, "You're just a jerk!"   
Tifa found herself smiling in amusement as she always did at Hanshi's antics. It was like he wished he were still only three years old. And yet, he found nothing wrong with killing or stealing when he felt he needed to do it- it was strange. She also sort of expected that Yuffie was attracted to him. He even seemed like her type, the type that could satisfy her wild heart.   
"Well you're the one making gross comments about eating bugs!" Yuffie retorted, giving him a playful push.   
"That's just different, not sick," Hanshi said.   
Tifa looked back from the bickering Taians at the quiet Rude. He hadn't exactly been the most active member of their group- in fact, he seemed rather depressed. He probably felt out of place here- afterall, two of his companions were his former enemies, and Elena had been the one who'd really arranged the connection between them, so he didn't have a real assosiation with these people yet. And he'd never even seen Hanshi until recently. She decided she might as well try to make him feel as comfortable as possible, and fell in beside him.   
"Silent type, huh?" she asked conversationally.   
Rude looked up in surprise. "Huh? Oh, hi."   
"Hi," Tifa said brightly. "Why so glum? It's a nice day. Good day for a walk."   
Rude shrugged. "I just feel like I don't have a purpose in life anymore," he confessed. "I've always been a Shinra man. My parents worked for Shinra, and I've always worked for Shinra since I was old enough to train to become a Turk. Now what do I do?"   
"You're part of AVALANCHE now," Tifa said enthuisiastically. "That's really much better than working for Shinra. You're a lot more free. Not to mention that you're on the right side."   
Rude shrugged.   
The silence was suddenly broken by the yells of Yuffie and Hanshi up ahead. Tifa and Rude bolted towards them.   
The two Taians were facing a tremendous monster, something Tifa was extremely startled to see out here on the Midgar plains. She had only seen these things in the cave under the North Crater, and didn't think they existed anywhere else. But there was no mistaking it- the large, black-scaled creatured could only be an Ultima Dragon.   
"Careful!" she shouted. "That thing casts some of the most powerful magic spells in existance!"   
Hanshi was trying to shoot it with his gatling gun, but the tough scales deflected the bullets as though they were ping-pong balls. Yuffie attempted to hurl her Conformer at its neck, but got similar results. Tifa knew that they only way they could effectively take this beast out was with magic.   
"Quake 3!" she shouted, and the thunderous eruptions of the earth that the spell causes threw the dragon backwards, giving Yuffie and Hanshi time to move away from the dangerous cliff that was the edge of the gorge created by Sepheros's fury.   
The dragon was by no means defeated, however, and it quickly recuperated and turned back to its advarsaries. This time, though, the beast attacked in a completely different manner than before.   
"Run!" Tifa screamed as she realized that the beast was charging up an Ultima. She had been right, too; fortunately, no one was hit by the blast, but the force of the impact sent them flying to the ground.   
Hanshi leapt back up again, a rage in his eyes. "Allright, punk, try me!" he yelled, and made a charge for the dragon.   
It immediately charged him as well, but instead of meeting head on, Hanshi leapt into the air and landed on the dragon's neck. He tore his katana from its sheath and began to vigorously slash at the tough scales that covered the dragon's throat, but even his razor-sharp blade could not penetrate the blades.   
Meanwhile, Yuffie cast Fire 3 and Rude cast Lightning 3, but niether did much to hurt the dragon signifigantly. Tifa knew she would have to think fast; the fight wouldn't go much longer if they couldn't gain an advantage over the monster very soon.   
"Yuffie!" she yelled. "Get around the dragon, so that you're facing the gorge, but it's between you and the gorge!"   
Yuffie looked at her blankly, but obeyed. But as she ran to the position Tifa had instructed, the dragon noticed her running there and seemed not to like it. He immediately sent another Ultima flying her way, and knocked her sprawling to the ground.   
Tifa gasped and ran after her; meanwhile Rude and Hanshi distracted the beast.   
"Are you okay?" she asked desperately, kneeling down beside Yuffie.   
"Not... really..." Yuffie muttered through aching lungs.   
"Cure 3!" Tifa called desperately. She was not to late, and the magic kicked Yuffie back into action. She leapt up, her energy renewed.   
"Okay, what do I do now?" she asked, at the ready.   
Tifa almost laughed at the irony of the drastic change, but concentrated on the fight. "Cast Leviathan on the thing," she instructed. "The tidal wave should knock it into the pit."   
"Good idea!" Yuffie exclaimed. "Leviathan!" she yelled, and the mighty, majestic form of the god of Wu Tai sprang to life in front of them, ushering in with him a temendous wave.   
"Hanshi!" Tifa screamed, having forgotten he was on the creature's back. "Get off!"   
Hanshi took one look at the approaching wave and ran. The dragon, fortunately, was much slower due to its massive body weight, and didn't have time to escape the wave. It was carried up by the force of the water and hurled over the edge of the pit, where it dissapeared from their site.   
Tifa breathed a gasp of relief, and she and Yuffie ran to meet the men. But as they all came together near the edge of the pit, a dark black claw suddenly burst up from over the side of the gorge, and the head of the Ultima dragon followed it. The dragon had actually grabbed the side of the gorge and climbed!   
"Quake 3!" Tifa yelled quickly, and the ground where the dragon held on rumbled and broke apart, sending it tumbling into the LifeStream far below.   
"I'm almost glad Sepheros made those pits now," Tifa remarked.   
"We wouldn't have met that dragon in the first place if he hadn't," Rude pointed out.   
The four of them sat down to rest for a while. They talked of many things during the hour they sat, and then got up to continue their trek, far more united than before the fight, and ready for anything.   
  
JUNON PORT   
  
Cid was surprised to see yet another Shiniji floating idly beside Vincent and Red when he approached the sub, his leg killing him. This one was very black, his wings a little less bat-like, and his body a bit more well-built. He was roughly the same size and shape as Devonan and Keveki, however.   
"This is Kicharin," Devonan informed Cid when they met.   
Kicharin nodded. "I'll be accompanying you, as will Devonan and Keveki," he said solemnly.   
"What? Why?" Cid asked.   
"Apparently the Planet told them to," Red explained for them. "These Shiniji could be a big help, though. Have they told you what they can do to enhance the power of magic spells?"   
"Shown me, actually," Cid acknowledged. "Allright then, let's go."   
"Don't forget me," said a familiar voice from behind them. They all whirled around instantly, to be faced with the astonishing sight of Cait Sith no longer riding a moogle, but instead a proud, sturdy, golden Chocobo. "This is really a much more useful ride, don't you think?" Reeve asked through Cait. "You're looking at Cait Sith No. 3!"   
"Is it alive?" Cid asked dubiously.   
"It's stuffed, but it's at least as fast as a real chocobo," Cait assured them. "It?ven fire proof. Now come on, let's go!"   
They all nodded, and climbed aboard the submarine. It was time to find the others and finally finish the long process of the rejoining.   
  
Cloud's mood was somber as he slowly trudged across the Midgar plains. He had a very, very strange tornado of feelings moving around too fast for him to keep check of in his head and his heart, and sorting them out would take quite some time. Ever since he decided to let Aeris flow freely back into his mind, he'd been feeling her absense like a hole in his chest. He had the distinct feel that she should be there with him, every waking moment she should, but for some reason she was not, and it was unbearable. But there was also the shock of having suddenly become so close to Elena. The two of them were talking a lot now, and discovering what amazingly interesting people they both were. Cloud had never really thought of Elena as another person in that kind of way- she'd always been an obstacle, but then she had become a tool, and now she was a companion. He didn't know exactly how he felt about her, but he did know that he would miss her enormously if she was ever taken away.   
It took awhile, but Cloud finally came to a conclusion about why they could relate to eachother so perfectly. Both of them had loved and lost, and both to the same terrible enemy: Sephiroth. Though Elena had originally thought it was Cloud who killed Tseng, she now knew that it had indeed been Sephiroth, and her hatred had been turned to him as completely as Cloud's. They had first shared and discovered that mutual feeling in the desperate battle they'd just had against Sepheros, who they knew was Sephiroth, though more as well. It was a binding feel that wove them together and connected them in a way Cloud had never experienced before. The only thing he was certain of was that is was not how he had felt about Aeris.   
Another thing Cloud noticed was the increasing edginess of Reno. He hadn't seemed too uncomfortable in this group before, but all of a sudden he was angry and dispositioned most of the time. As a result, everyone just left him alone, which only made his moodiness more profound. Cloud hadn't ever thought of Reno as a moody kind of guy, and he couldn't seem to figure out what was up with this sudden change. When he asked Elena about it, she just shrugged and said, "He's childish. I don't think I understand him at all anymore." That didn't seem like a normal thing for Elena to say, either. As far as he could tell, she'd always been good friends with Reno and Rude, even if they were always bickering. Something odd was going on.   
But all thoughts of those kinds of matters suddenly faded into oblivion when after what seemed like an eternity, they finally came upon the welcome sight of the shore. It shouldn't be long before the sub came floating past, ready to pick them up. Then all they'd have to do was look for the others.   
The sub showed up right on time- they only had to wait an hour for the sub to return. The wait was only a couple days until Tifa, Rude, Hanshi, and Yuffie finally appeared in the distance. They quickly boarded the submarine, and the group was finally reunited. It was time to go home and find out where the hell Shinra had dissapeared to.   
  
Syphe Techro, lead engineer for Shinra Inc, was in a very bad mood that afternoon. He had reluctantly begun drilling into the soil of the ravaged land of Mideel to start sucking out the precious Mako from underneath the crust of the earth. But every time he felt like shutting the whole thing down and quitting, he remembered that his boss was possibly the most dangerous man in the world, and if he made that boss angry, he'd get it, and if he got it, his wife and his two beautiful kids would recieve no money and starve. No matter how many times he told himself that Shinra was wrong and that he was supporting it, he simply could not bring himself to do what he knew he should. He could not bear to think what would happen if he was gone.   
But he had to do something, so he decided to talk to Ashroth about it. He knew there was a slight risk involved, but also he was one of the best engineers in the biz, and that Ashroth probably wouldn't dispose of him too quickly. He prayed he was right as he approached the tent that Ashroth had made his office during the construction of Midgar 2.   
"Come in," came the response as Syphe knocked. Muttering one last prayer, he opened the makeshift wooden door to the tent and slowly approached Ashroth's wide desk.   
"Yes?" Ashroth asked. He sounded like he wasn't in a particularly bad mood, which was promising.   
"I just was wondering if we could talk about an issue I feel is of some importance," Syphe began.   
"Sit down, Techro," Ashroth said bluntly. Of course he did not look up at Syphe. "I assume you're here because you're upset with the Midgar 2 project. You don't like destroying Mideel."   
Syphe was, naturally, taken aback by this, but before he had time to say anything, the supreme general continued:   
"I am well aware of your objections to the project, Mr. Techro. But I want you on this project, and I'm not letting you leave. You're a good engineer, and they're hard to find these days."   
That made Syphe mad. What did this bozo mean, he wasn't going to let him? Syphe did not belong to Ashroth.   
"Sir, I have every right to quit this job," he said a little defiantly.   
"Most certainly," Ashroth agreed, a little too wholeheartedly. "But that has nothing to do with what I will do if you actually do quit. If you quit this job, you will not find your family at home when you leave."   
Those words struck terror into Syphe's very core. Ashroth was a deadly, deadly man. He was so uncannily perceptive about these things; it was like he had a natural ability to sense whatever it was that could cause a person more pain and fear than anything else. Nothing was more important to Syphe than family, and Ashroth had somehow picked up on that even though he'd never talked to the man about it. He was horrifying in that respect, and in the dim light of the tent, he almost looked to Syphe like a monster, a demon sent to this earth to torture as many people as he possibly could.   
"Yes sir," he said meekly. He left the tent and ran for his own quarters to shiver for a while.   
  
The chocobo farm was not the destination of the sub as it floated carelessly along the gentle waters of the Junon Ocean. Instead, the craft was heading in the direction of Rocket Town. Cid had informed everyone that a little surprise he'd been having prepared should be ready by now, and that it would be very useful to get a hold of now.   
Unfortunately, this was no cruise; the sub was not designed for comfort, and so the living conditions were not good. It was fairly cramped and there was little to occupy the companions other than sitting up on the deck and staring at the sky or sleeping. Concequently, they all sort of retracted; Cloud turned to daily manning the sub in a silent, uncaring way; Barret became grumpy and temperamental of course, Cid sat and smoked all day, Cait Sith did nothing as Reeve was not bothering to control him, Hanshi paced around and whined about how bored he was, Yuffie did was Hanshi did, Elena sat around thinking deep thoughts, Reno and Rude sat around thinking shallow thoughts, and Red and Vincent sat and conversed about a wide variety of matters. Meanwhile, Tifa desperately tried to bring everyone out of their repressed moods, but to no avail. It was a rather boring time, and by the time they were only a day away from Rocket Town, everyone was grumpy, even Tifa, which was almost unheard of.   
Cloud sat and fiddled idly with the control stick of the vehicle while he thought about Aeris. He had gotten to the point where he could think about her without hurting- he felt a sorrow still, but did not feel a great pain as he had before. Maybe it was helping to think about her without trying not to. He snapped out of his reverie when he heard two voices unexpectedly shouting at eachother: Tifa and Elena.   
"Would you just shut up and leave me alone?!" Tifa yelled.   
"Then take it back, bitch!" Elena retorted.   
"Why the hell should I do that?!"   
"Because I'll kick your ass, that's why!"   
"Oh, come on, get over here and try it!"   
Cloud went running in the direction of the yelling. It was soon joined by an enraged Yuffie; Cloud couldn't tell whos side she was on, but expected it to be Tifa's, since Yuffie tended to be loyal to whoever she'd known for longer- assuming it was not in her best interests to be unloyal, that is.   
Cloud rushed into the cargo room, where the ladies slept, but was too late to stop a fight; Tifa had already flipped Elena onto her back and put her in a vicious lock on the floor by pressing her knee against the helpless turk's back and pulling her arms upward.   
"Tifa!" Cloud exclaimed in shock.   
Tifa seemed to snap out of something, and then reluctantly got up, shaking her head.   
"I'm sorry," she said, sounding exhausted, "I can't believe I snapped like that."   
"Me niether," Elena muttered, getting back up from her humiliating position. Yuffie was standing by the two of them, looking back and forth between the them with huge eyes. Apparently, she hadn't actually thought that it would come down to a fight.   
"Cloud, tell that bitch to take back what she said about me, okay?" Elena added.   
"I won't tell her anything if you don't apolagize for calling her an offensive name," Cloud said sternly.   
By now, Vincent, Red, Cid, Hanshi, and Rude and Reno had all come in to see what was going on.   
"Oh, right," Elena rolled her eyes. "I had every right to!"   
"She's not exactly telling the whole story," Tifa said grumpily.   
"I told all he needs to hear," Elena shot back.   
"Everybody shut up," Cloud said exhaustedly. "Why don't I let Yuffie tell me what happened?"   
"Oh sure, let that little bitch do it," Elena rolled her eyes. Cloud gave her a look, and she shut up.   
"Allright," said Yuffie, who seemed to have regained her composure. "Elena was in a bad mood, so she started bitching at Tifa for everything she did. Then Tifa told her to just leave her alone, and she started screaming. So then Tifa just starting yelling back, and of course I started yelling at Elena too, cuz she's a bitch..."   
"If anyone says the word bitch one more time, I'm going to toss all three of you overboard," Cloud grated. "Now just tell it from a nuetral point of view."   
"There's nothing more to say," Yuffie shrugged. "Elena thought she could beat Tifa in a fight, which was really stupid."   
"I wasn't trying very hard," Elena mumbled.   
"I think you guys are just getting a little groggy from these cramped conditions," Cloud sighed. "Go get some fresh air or something. Just don't act like kids, okay?"   
Elena and Tifa both looked ashamed, and Elena quickly climbed up the ladder that led to the deck. Everybody cleared out except Cloud and Tifa.   
"I'm sorry," Tifa said quietly. "I don't know why..."   
"It's okay," Cloud shrugged. "Remember, I've gone crazy before too," he added with a smile. "Is Yuffie's acount accurate?"   
"I'm just... very upset with Elena," Tifa shrugged. She seemed to feel it was a slightly delicate subject.   
"Why?"   
"I-" Tifa didn't finish, but simply got up and left the room. Cloud shook his head in bewilderment and went back to the controls, wishing he could just go join the LifeStream now, where everything would be peaceful.   
  
Like a steel blade snapping in two, all tensions completely ceased between the companions as soon as they stepped onto land- at least for now, anyway. Cloud couldn't help but notice that Tifa and Elena were still keeping away from eachother, and he made a mental note to figure out just what was going on between them sometime- just not now. There were too many other things to figure out going on now.   
It didn't take long for them to reach Rocket Town as it was fairly near the coast, but they could already see what the surprise was from a distance: The Highwind was resting on a high platform where Shinra No. 1 used to stand, but it was not the Highwind they had previously known. Huge rocket engines now jutted from the back, it had been re-painted a shining, spectacular gold, and a pair of magnificent wings jutted out from the sides. The former airship had been transformed into an awe-inspriring supersonic jet- and Cid immediately informed them that that wasn't the half of it.   
"I also had her equipped with a bunch of weapons, both Mako-type and normal," Cid bragged. "And the coolest new feature is that it can carry the buggy and the sub around underneath it! This baby is a masterpiece!"   
"Cid, congradulations," Cloud said in awe.   
"It's gorgeous," Elena said admiringly.   
"Yeah, kinda like me," Cid grinned, sending Elena into an uproar of laughter.   
"Aren't you just the cutey," she joked.   
"Whatcha talkin about? He's even uglier than Cloud," Barret joined in.   
"Thanks, Barret," Cloud laughed.   
"Can I be cute too?" Hanshi asked in a high-pitched voice that didn't sound entirely healthy. Elena cracked up more.   
"I'm surrounded by comedians," she said between bursts.   
"I can do cute stuff, like rumple your hair," said Hanshi, and he gave Elena a noogie. She squealed and ducked. "Cloud and Elena are both chocobo heads," was the oddball Taian's next ridiculous comment.   
Cloud smiled to himself as Elena laughed with the others. It was so strange how she'd so quickly settled right into the group. But what had happened that she and Tifa had ended up hating eachother? And Yuffie, too?   
Meanwhile, Tifa felt a pang of jealousy as her old term for Cloud's hair was used to describe Elena with him. She immediately tried to purge herself of such childish feelings, but they were too natural. Why was she so jealous every time Elena was the focus of attention? Tifa was most certainly not desperate for attention; she'd always been quite content to be the quiet one in the backround.   
Maybe she had been too used to being the lady of the group? But that didn't make much sense either; they treated her like one of the group, not like a godess- and Tifa certainly wouldn't have it any other way, of course. It just didn't fit.   
Then it hit her- she was jealous that Elena was hogging Cloud's attentions. They'd been good friends for so long now, it just didn't feel right for him to be paying more attention to another woman. That was ridiculous, she told herself- it's a good thing that Cloud is talking to women again. Maybe it means he's over Aeris. He has every right to take an interest in Elena. Afterall, she's smart, fun, and good looking- why shouldn't he? But wasn't Tifa all those things too? She shook her head, trying to clear those thoughts away. It was completely natural for Cloud to be paying attention to Elena; Tifa knew perfectly well that the two of them were just friends, and that that feeling was mutual. But the matter kept bugging her for days on end anyway.   
  
"How is the subject, Dr. Zephyn?" asked Hojo as he entered the Project X Lab.   
"He's dealing pretty well with the knowledge that Aers was killed by Cloud," Zephyn smirked. "He actually stopped putting holes on the walls to eat this morning."   
"Excellent," Hojo congradulated his apprentice. "You've done well, Doctor. I think you'll be the next of Shinra's great proffessors someday."   
"I eagerly await that position," said the young but brilliant Zephyn, leaning back in her chair and smiling at the prospect.   
"I think our subject will be ready to go hunting in a few more months," Hojo smiled, looking through the broad, one-way-mirror that the two proffessors used to watch X as he carried out his meaningless existence inside the steel room he was caged in. Hojo was the only one who was alowed to go into the cage, as he was the only one X trusted- anyone else would be nothing more than a bloody splat on the wall if they dared enter the forbidden room. Before Aers was gone, there were a few other scientists who could enter, but now that he had been "killed by Cloud", X was twice as dangerous as before. "I think I'll go see him."   
The room was a very large space that contained several punching bags and various other training equipment, a small table in one corner, and a small cot in another. X was doing pull-ups on a twenty-feet-high pole that stretched across the expance of the room. That pole was where most of X's daily activities happened- he would swing across the beam like a monkey, do flips off of it, and of course do pull-ups. "How are you, Zack?" Hojo called up to X.   
X flipped off the pole and landed in front of Hojo.   
"Angry," he said in a whisper.   
Hojo smiled. "Who are you angry at?"   
"CLOUD!" shouted the furious young man.   
Zack had changed. His hair was still spikey, but so long now that it went down across his back; he still wore his old SOLDIER uniform, but he had trained so hard that the expanding mass of his muscles had caused it to tear in several places; he no longer wielded a Buster Sword, but a deadly Murasame, and most of all, his eyes no longer glowed lightly, but with an intense, horrifying red light that bespoke of boundless rage and hatred. After being shot down, he'd undergone a treatment that Hojo had once sworn he would never allow to be duplicated- but with new research from a brilliant young student named Kre Zephyn, the process seemed tempting again. Zack had been given the treatment of a former turk named Vincent Valentine, but the process had been refined to cause his powers to be more in control. Unfortunately, the fact that he had complete control over his powers made the temperamentalness go elsewhere- his personality. Zack was possibly the most dangerous person alive now, with the exception of Keer Ashroth, who destroy people's souls by looking at them.   
"That's what I thought," Hojo nodded routinely. "You have a lot to be angry at him for. Remember all the things he did?"   
"First he left me to die as we tried to escape from AVALANCHE," Zack began, the furious glow in his eyes even more intense, "Then he joined them and betrayed me. And to top it all off, he killed my brother."   
"The last remnant of family you have," Hojo said with feigned sympathy. "Soon, Zack, we'll be done with Shinra, and then, then you will really be able to kill Cloud. Whether or not you are used by our Master, you will still get to kill Cloud."   
"But what if the Chaos Leader kills him first?" Zack asked.   
"The Chaos Leader can't truly kill him. It's very hard to explain- when the Event happens, there won't be any killing of actual people, it will just seem that way. I really don't know much more than that- it is all the Master has revealed to me. What I need to do now is seek out the Companions of Chaos. I still have no idea who they are. Once we've found them, and our enemy has formed the Companions of Order, we will know which course of action to take. Until then, you must be patient."   
"Patience is so hard," Zack groaned.   
"The Master won't let you kill Cloud until we know, so just keep telling yourself that you must be patient to have the chance."   
Zack nodded. He was temperamental, but not stupid. He understood.   
"We'll be moving from Shinra soon, and then we won't have to keep you in a cage anymore," Hojo changed the subject. "But you have to be able to control yourself. Understand?"   
Zack nodded.   
"One more thing, X," Hojo said.   
Zack looked at him questioningly.   
"You absolutely must not forget that you are no longer Zack. You are X."   
Zack nodded again. Hojo left.   
"How is he?" Zephyn asked when he returned.   
"Excellent," Hojo replied. "The last thing that remains before we move on to our own plans is to kill Ashroth."   
  
A convoy of ten Shinra trucks was driving along a twisting mountain road somewhere in the Nibel Mountains. The trucks had been sent by ship from Junon just before the bulk of the fleet was destroyed, and had now almost found their destination. Soon, the workers on board the trucks were boring into the side of one of the largest of the Nibel Mountains. None of them knew what they were looking for, only that they would know they were looking for it when they saw it. Soon, they broke into what was perhaps the most massive cave in history. The entire interior had been carved out- and not by any machine, either. It was obvious from the way the digging was done that some supernatural force had done this.   
What was really astonishing, however, was that over 500 airships, all marked with the Shinra Inc seal. Soon they would be serving the company they were never quite put into action for years ago.   
  
"Sir, you've recieved a call," came the voice of Supreme General Keer Ashroth's secretary through his intercom.   
"Put me through," he said shortly.   
"Sir," said a voice Ashroth had been hoping to hear from.   
"Yes, general?" Ashroth responded, hoping to hear good news.   
"Good news," the voice reported. "You know that assignment you put me on? I think we've found what you wanted."   
"Excellent," Ashroth grinned maliciously.   
  
It took a miniscule three ours for the new Highwind to blaze back to the chocobo farm, where Choco Billy rushed out to see what on earth was up with the furiously loud roaring of the jets of the Highwind as they turned downward for it to land. The companions spent the rest of the day in the buggy rounding up lost chocobos who had gone tearing over the fence in fear at the sound of the engines. When the day was done, Cloud took a short nap, got up for supper, took another short nap, and then awoke. Something was bugging him. He got out of bed, still in his mercenary outfit because he'd never bothered to get changed before going to bed, and walked out to the deck, where he stared into the night for a while. It was a very nice night- and out here in the middle of nowhere, the stars littered the heavens like dust in the sky. The air was cool and crisp, but not chilling. It was the perfect night to be out.   
But it was like something else was calling to Cloud. He looked out over the horizon, and that was when he saw the star that was not in the sky. It looked exactly like a star, but brighter and more intense than any star he'd ever seen. He felt drawn to it, almost like he had an affection for it. He simply had to figure out what this earthbound glow could be.   
Without bothering to use the stairs, Cloud jumped off the balcony and landed nearby the Highwind, where they had parked the buggy after the roundup. Cloud jumped in and started the engine. The last thing he saw of the chocobo farm before he left was Tifa running out onto the balcony in her robe to see why the engine was starting, but he didn't stop to tell her what he was doing. He felt more and more drawn to the light.   
The light was dead west of the chocobo farm, and drew closer faster than he would have expected. Before he knew it, he was at a very strange sight in the middle of the Midgar Plains- a large hole in the earth with a great light pouring forth from it. Cloud approached the hole and looked down into it. It was strange- there were steps carved crudely into the earth, and they almost looked like they'd been formed naturally. Cloud shiverred at the thought.   
But he must know where this light was coming from. He slowly descended the stairs of the cave. As he went, a strange feeling passed by him- a feeling of the coldest, more terrifying dread he had ever felt. It struck his heart and surged through his body like a toxin. His head almost spun, his back felt frozen, and he wanted nothing more than to get out of here. It only happened for about a second, and then it was gone, and the feeling of affection for the light returned. Shaking his head, he plunged on, and into one of the most gorgeous rooms he'd ever seen.   
The walls and floor were nothing but solid, glowing crystal. Shards prodruted here and there, and they seemed to be what were generating most of the light. But Cloud was not paying attention to the beauty of the room. Something else was there that he simply could not believe. Tears of joy streaming down his face, he slowly, surely approached the large dais in the center of the room where, in a slight dip of flowing crystaline colors, lay Aeris Gainsborough, and her eyes had opened as soon as he entered the room.   
  
Here ends Volume 2: The Rejoining of the saga Final Fantasy VII: Beyond Apocalypse. The saga is continued in Volume 3: Opposing Powers.  
  



	3. Volume 3- Opposing Powers

Final Fantasy VII: Beyond Apocalypse  
Volume 3: Opposing Powers  
  
  
PREFACE  
  
Excerpt from "The Book of the Ancients":  
  
...there is a power, a power so great that it cannot be destroyed by means of magic or machine, it cannot be held back, and it can attack without a single warning. In the day this power attacks Cetra, little, if anything, of you will be left. But Cetra speaks clearly on this matter, and you will not be destroyed by it, though badly wounded. There will be one who can reverse the wounds done to Cetra by this power, but only if this one is taken to where he or she can understand the power. Know that this savior is coming by three signs: The first shall be the dying of Cetra. When Cetra begins to fade from your ears, and does not provide for you anymore, so that you must leave and go to a different world, that is the first sign the one is coming. When a great and powerful plague hits your new home and all but destroys you, that will be the second sign. And the third sign will be that your culture, your very existance is lost among the people of another world. So is the fate of the Cetra, but not to eternity.  
Know that you must be prepared to ensure your own fate. On the new world which you travel to, you must store your memories, your very thoughts, away in a great magical nexus that only one of your kind can understand.   
[The prophet Dargan who wrote the words of Cetra as she died began to speak in giberish, and the next paragraph of the Book of the Ancients is known as "Dargan's Rave". It was studied extensively, but no sense could be made of it.]  
  
This passage has been studied by scholars because of one mysterious line: "In the day this power attacks Cetra, little, if anything, of you will be left. But Cetra speaks clearly on this matter, and you will not be destroyed by it, though badly wounded."   
This passage makes no sense. Though the entire excerpt is no doubt speaking to the Cetra, it also reffers to the Cetra as an object. No sense has been made of this mystery. The Cetra are spoken of as though they are a great life form, but also as though this life form is separate from themselves. Let us continue with yet another mysterious excerpt.  
  
  
Furthur Excerpt from the "Book of the Ancients":  
  
[Please note that the paragraph before this excerpt was about the signifigance of eagles in Cetran mythology and had nothing to do with what is presented here- the excerpt is completely out of place.]  
The Consumption feeds upon an individual in a two-pronged attack. First it will consume them without being noticed. This it the easiest way for it to destroy a victim. But, when this method fails, which it easily can because in order to remain unnoticed it must remain weak, it will go into hybernation for a period of anywhere from five to ten years and then strike again, evoking horrifying and no. Oh, but the plague, the plague! Let there be no more killing, oh dark one, you who would tear apart the sanity of the world to live in sick comfort. Let the accursed tiny demons be done away with, oh saviors, oh great trinity that will become the light of the universe and flush the evil out to restore a balance between the dark and the light. And you, oh great protector, be strong! Know that your destiny is not truly one of darkness! There awaits you the comfort for your anguish in the home of your ancestors. Go there and understand that you are the most valued of us all, the one who will lead us to our rebirth.  
Then, when the Consumption has completely taken over its victim, it will drive him to utter madness and destroy him. But the cure for the Consumption will always be the same, it must only be fully realised.   
And the shade of the unholy one will interfere! If the cure cannot reach the victim, there will be endless darkness, for the great trinity will not be able to set order to the universe. The cursed shade will be a dark abomination that should not exist and shall be against the eternal laws, but must so is the way of the darkness. And know that in order to compensate for the lawlessness of the darkness, the protector will sacrifice everything. But know that in the end, all the sacrifice that leads to victory for the light is repayed, but sacrifice that leads to victory for the dark is made worse.  
  
The prophet Dargan then returns to the subject of eagles. This excerpt is another of the most puzzling elements of the Book of the Ancients, especially when he says "terrifying and no" and then lapses into meaningless rambling.  
  
  
  
THE CHOCOBO FARM  
  
All of the members of AVALANCHE wore grim, serious expressions on their faces as they gathered in the livingroom of the chocobo farm. Barret sat and stroked his beard, staring thoughtfully into the table; Cid sat and somehow managed to look troubled as well as sleepy; Reeve stood and stared out the window; Reno and Rude sat on the couch idly twiddling their thumbs; Yuffie shifted nervously where she sat; Hanshi sat with his arms folded and an angry, but somehow calm as well, expression on his face; Elena paced back and forth nervously, and Tifa sat on the sofa close to tears.   
One question ran through the minds of every person there: Had Cloud gone insane again? Cloud was one of the least likely people they knew to just run off without warning, especially in the middle of the night.   
Of all of them, Tifa and Elena seemed the most nervous. Barret was the only one who completely understood why those two. Tifa had been friends with Cloud since they were children, and Elena had fallen in love with him over the course of their trip to the coast. He didn't have to wait long to realize he was partly wrong.  
"Don't leave me, Cloud," Elena whispered, finally stopping to look out the window. Even though it was a whisper, it was a scream in the silence and seriousness of the room.  
"Shut up," Tifa snapped at her. "You haven't known Cloud half as long as the rest of us. He's not leaving you."  
That was all it took- Elena's eyes suddenly widened with a firey rage. "How the hell would you know who he's leaving?! Cloud and I are close!"  
Tifa stood up quickly now. "You honestly think that you're close to Cloud after having known him for maybe a week now? Compared the rest of us, who went through the adventure of a lifetime together, who helped him in his darkest time, who helped him find who he is?! How dare you!"  
"You weren't there!" Elena shouted back, stepping forward. Tifa stepped forward to meet her.   
"Calm down, girls!" Barret suddenly broke in. "That ain't gonna help find Cloud!"  
"Stay out of it, Barret," Elena snapped.   
"Don't talk to my friend that way!" Tifa screamed in her face.  
"Get out of my face!"  
"Make me!"  
Elena threw a good punch at Tifa, who promptly caught it, flipped Elena around twice, and left her sprawled out on her back. Elena jumped up again and trew a kick at Tifa's head, but Tifa grabbed it as well, twisted it, and spun Elena around sideways, landing her painfully on her frontside this time.  
"Done now?"   
"Where did you learn that?" Elena asked as she got up, stretching out her back.  
"None of your business. Now back off."  
Elena looked Tifa right in the face. "You don't know what Cloud and I have. It's something special."  
Tifa met her gaze with an icy cool stare. "What? You think he's in love with you or something?"  
"No," Elena shook her head. "But I'm in love with him."  
"What?!"  
"You heard me!" Elena shouted. "Should I make it an announcement?! I'M IN LOVE WITH CLOUD!!"  
"Oh goddamit Elena, ya don't even know the bastard," Reno suddenly shouted, flinging his arms in the air and storming out of the room.   
Tifa looked at Elena for a moment, her eyes like icicles. "You honestly think that after I spent years getting to know Cloud, spent time with him, helped him, saved his life, shared countless conversations with him, spent countless nights with him, and all the while held my feelings back because of that damn Ancient, you have a right to fall in love with Cloud, after I've tried to silently show him that I'm in love with him for more than five years?" The icicles were melting and running down her cheeks now.  
Elena was a little taken aback by that. She had said "that damn Ancient". Was that the release of a bottled up anger at someone who everyone had always assumed to be her friend, that she'd been containing for all this time?   
"I... I never..."  
"Of course not," Tifa snapped. She turned to the window Elena had been looking out before. "But it doesn't matter. You'll get used to it. You'll get used to day after day, yearning to tell him, and not doing it because he can't get over the girl who he was in love with, the girl who was meant to be with him. Who was 'perfect' for him."  
Reeve flinched a little at that line.  
"You'll learn what it's like," Tifa continued, turning away, tears now flowing freely. "When he calls out the name of that damn Ancient in his sleep every now and then, while you're right in the next room over from his, and can hear him yelling, yelling her name over and over again. You'll wish he'd just forget that name. You'll wish he'd never say it again. That name-"  
Just then, the door came flying open, and Cloud came running in, the look on his face wild with exuberation.  
"Look, everyone!" he yelled. They had already looked. They had already been astonished. They saw who was with him.  
"I found Aeris!" he finished.   
Tifa and Elena's jaws dropped.  
  
Supreme General Keer Ashroth smiled wickedly as he saw a swarm of giant hornets approaching him. They roared in the air, moving at very high speeds, and he knew that these would be a key ingredient in the mix of actions to take that would make Shinra controller of the world. He knew that strange things were brewing, and that they would probably affect his long-term plans in the future, but for now, he would simply go about his business as best he could without knowing everything he wanted to. It would all come in time, he was sure.  
The hornets landed on a great landing field that had been set up next to Mideel- it was about the size of three airports, and it needed to be for this many airships. Ashroth wondered to himself for the millionth time that day why President Shinra and Rufus never bothered to use the Secret Fleet unless it was an absolute emergency. Pulling them out into the open and making use of them seemed much more prudent to Ashroth- on the other hand, the other two had controlled Shinra at the height of its glory, while Ashroth was several billion gil in debt- despite that he'd had over half his debtors killed.  
Soon, he would use the Secret Fleet to speed along the construction of Midgar 2. With these as a resource, things would move much faster and cheaper. And once Midgar 2 was developed, Ashroth would be too powerful to worry about who he owed money to. No one would be able to stand before him- because unlike those foolish leaders before him, he was truly ambitious. He would take this Planet and milk it for all it was worth- all the pain and all the suffering he could ever wish to cause would be right at his finger tips. It would be the ultimate satisfaction.  
General Argad quickly came to meet him after the fleet touched down.   
"Sir," Argad reported with a quick salute, "Mission acomplished."  
"Excellent work, General," Ashroth smiled. "I think I'll raise your salary a bit. Go relax for a while."  
"Thank you, sir," said the General, who was even happier about being on Ashroth's good side than getting a raise and the day off.   
Ashroth sat down and treated himself to a cigar. Things were going rather smoothly. AVALANCHE hadn't caused him trouble in ages- maybe the losers were finally giving up- maybe they'd even been killed by that Sephiroth look-alike- and the reconstruction of the fleet at Junon was going smoothly. The only real bummer was that things were not going smoothly in Wu Tai. Ashroth knew that at this point, it would be more prudent to pull out- he was spending more than was wise on this, in way of both money and men- but he knew that the tables would soon be turned. He had a deal, and assuming his business partner kept his end of the bargain, he ought to have Wu Tai under control very soon. He blew a few smoke rings, then got up and headed for his tent. His blade was calling to him.  
  
Everyone was crowding around Cloud and Aeris, yelling greetings and their various amazed exclamations.  
"Thought you were gone forever, girl!" said Barret.  
"I can't believe it's really you!" said Yuffie.  
"Whoa, it's the Ancient," said Rude.  
"This is an amazing miracle," said Red XIII.  
Vincent nodded at Aeris and Cloud from where he sat.  
"Welcome back," said Reeve, shaking his head in disbelief.  
"I'm gonna take you for a ride in the Highwind," Cid beamed.  
"I dunno who the hell she is, but she sure it hot," said Hanshi.  
Everyone cracked up at that one- everyone except two of them.  
"What do I do?" Elena whispered quietly to Tifa.  
"Just watch the master," Tifa sighed.  
She was the last to approach Aeris.  
"I can't believe you're back," she said with a smile. "We've got a lot of catching up to do."  
The warmth of her greeting was real, there could be no mistaking it. So Tifa and Aeris were friends- but Elena knew that part of Tifa resented Aeris being here. Elena resented it wholeheartedly- she had never known Aeris personally, and thus had no qualms about leaving her for dead. The others, unfortunately, were thrilled.  
Elena approached Aeris. "Hey," she said. "I guess we weren't on friendly terms last time we met, but we are now. You don't mind, do you?"  
Aeris smiled. "Of course not," she said. "I'm glad we're on good terms now."  
"Come on, we're gonna party!" yelled Cloud. "We can do explaining later. Tifa, wanna mix up some drinks?!"  
"Sure," Tifa said cheerily, and went to the liquor cabinet.  
"Paaaaartaaaaaaay!!" Hanshi yelled, and slammed some music into the stereo. Everyone knew then and there that parties would be when Hanshi was most dangerous.  
  
The party was a thrill for everybody- even Tifa and Elena managed to forget themselves, at least when Cloud and Aeris weren't sitting in the corner talking by themselves. That was when the two of them would get somber, and Barret would go and tell them to get up and join the party because he understood- or Red XIII would do it, because he was intelligent enough to see just from Tifa's and Elena's reactions that it hurt them. Cloud was becoming too popular for his own good.  
At about two in the morning, everyone finally decided to pack it in. Tifa was definately ready to do that. She'd had quite a day.  
But sleep wouldn't come. Too much was on her mind. Tommarow, Aeris would probably tell the story of what had happened to her between the time she died and now- what could possibly have happened? Had she escaped from the Lifestream? Had she been sent back to complete some unfulfilled destiny? Maybe this wasn't even Aeris at all. Maybe it was an Aeris clone, sent to dupe them into some kind of trap. Tifa shook that thought from her head. It was only there out of jealousy.  
Tifa walked out onto the balcony to stare at the stars. She remembered when she used to sit out here with Cloud- he'd probably sit here with Aeris now. She shook her head again, trying to chase the jealousy away. It wasn't that she wasn't happy to see her old friend again- but part of her was sad, sad because she'd felt closer to Cloud with Aeris out of the picture, and that was going to be taken away from her. She wondered if anyone would tell Cloud that she and Elena had both declared their love for him just before he came barging into the room with Aeris. She hoped not- it would only complicate things if he were sorry for her.  
"So is this what it's always like?" asked a familiar voice from behind her.  
"No," Tifa said quickly, and she meant it. "It's just that the shock hasn't worn off yet. I'm as glad that Aeris is back as anyone else- I just can't show it, because I have this stupid jealousy hanging onto me."  
"I never would have guessed you-" Elena started, not knowing how to say it.  
Tifa smiled. "I know," she said. "I hid it because I knew he loved Aeris- and even after she was gone, I still hid it, because I knew he still loved her then. But only for a while... after a while...you see it just isn't... I know... nevermind. I can't really talk about this."  
"What?"  
"Nothing."  
"So we're just going to keep it bottled up forever then?"   
Tifa smiled. "You do what you like. As for me, I'm going to keep it bottled up until some new prince charming comes along and makes me forget all about Cloud. I can't wait for that day."  
"Have you ever dropped him hints?" Elena asked through curiosity.  
"Heh," Tifa forced a laugh, "Have I tried dropping hints? I did it without trying to. If I'd been able to make myself not drop hints, I would have. Men are extremely dense, though. It's the sad reality of the world."  
"Aren't they?" Elena agreed with a laugh. "They're always doing stupid things."  
"And acting like women have no right to be mad at them for it," Tifa grinned.  
"And then they get all squirmy," Elena continued, thinking back to Reno and Rude.   
"And they start getting all depressed and give up on life," Tifa kept it going, thinking back to Cloud.  
They both laughed their way through their conversations for a few more hours, then finally decided to go to sleep, made into the best of friends from the worst of enemies in one evening.  
  
ONE MONTH LATER  
  
The Highwind blazed over the small ocean that separated the Eastern and North continents, its new jet engines propelling it faster than the speed of sound through the crisp, steadily chilling air of the northern regions. While it was far from freezing up here, they were getting into a slightly cold climate. Fortunately, no one would have to freeze, as their target was just within reach.  
The Highwind set itself down right at the entrance to the Forgotten Capital, but first it unloaded the many trucks of supplies and workers it was carrying right into the long-destroyed city.  
The trucks headed towards the center of the town, and the members of AVALANCHE, protectors of the Planet, followed them. They were a whopping 16 now- The original members, Cloud, Aeris, Tifa, Barret, Vincent, Red, Reeve, Yuffie, and Cid were now joined by the Taian wacko Hanshi, the former Turks, Elena, Rude, and Reno, and the three "Shiniji", Devonan, Keveki, and Kicharin- very quiet allies who rarely spoke but hovered slightly above the various members of AVALANCHE and enhanced the abilities of their spells when requested. In the past month, the team had stopped a total of 7 Shinra convoys carrying supplies for the construction of Midgar 2. Unfortunately, their exploits had been stopped when a surprise fleet of airships took over the duties of carrying supplies to Midgar 2, and concequently, the city was almost done now. In fact, it wouldn't be long before they figured AVALANCHE would have to stard recruiting new members to battle against Shinra, as the company's new supply of Mako would undoubtedly make them very powerful very soon.   
And that was the reason for this excursion.  
"This is my dream come true," Barret said in awe as he watched the construction start, standing on a high rock with the rest of his team. "A real HQ for AVALANCHE- no more hiding."  
"What, my bar wasn't good enough for you?" Tifa teased.  
Barret grinned.  
"Put up an arcade, Berry," Hanshi suggested.  
"Hey, good idea," said Rude. Reno did not join in with him. Though not as angry as he used to be, Reno was never in a very good mood; he did what must be done and contributed to the newly formed team, but he was always so mellow now. Rude seemed to be a little hurt, too. But all in all, the team worked well together; the missions they'd gone on had brought them closer, and despite some of their inward quarrels, they were getting along very well.  
"You know," Reeve mused, "I'm sort of getting a fantastic idea for what this could turn into."  
"What?" asked Barret.  
"An amusement park!!" shouted Hanshi.  
"No," Reeve chuckled. Even Reeve's serious and mature sense of humor was sometimes tickled by Hanshi's insanity. "A city. One that could fight Midgar 2."  
"Without the incredible Mako resources they have, I don't think such a thing is possible," Vincent objected.  
"Don't worry, my people have been working on alternate power sources for years now. They're on the verge of a major breakthrough."  
Reeve would never explain who his "people" were, so no one ever asked anymore.   
"I just want it to be homy," Aeris said. "I miss living in a real house."  
Tifa nodded. "I know what you mean," she agreed. "I want a place that feels like home. Maybe a bar."  
"What, you want slums?" Hanshi asked. "There'll be plenty of those in Midgar 2, go move there."  
"Yuck," Tifa made a face.  
"So what happens after we're done building this thing?" Yuffie asked eagerly. Though she was maturing- it was only 3 months until she'd be eighteen- Yuffie still had a lot of immature characteristics to her, including her retained desire to slip things that weren't hers into her pocket, but no one minded, as this was the Yuffie they'd grown to know and love.  
"We attack the Midgar 2 construction area before they have a chance to finish," Cloud declared.  
"I wish we could just make peace with them instead," Aeris pouted. "I hate fighting."  
"Tell me about it," Cloud smiled.  
  
That night, they'd all set up their tents and moved in. Cloud and Aeris stayed outside for a while though and talked.  
"Do you remember anything yet?" he asked.  
"No," Aeris shook her head sadly. "I'm afraid not. It's all just a big green blurr- and the next thing I knew, I was lying in that room with you in front of me. It was a nice way to wake up, though." She grinned at him. He smiled back.  
"I'm so glad you're back," he said, looking deep into her eyes.  
"I'm just glad I can be with you again," she replied, looking back.  
"Yo, get yerselves a tent!" Hanshi shouted from behind them. They looked back to see his head sticking out from under the bottom of his tent. It was pretty funny looking, since what they saw looked sort of like a decapitated head sitting on the ground outside a tent yelling sarcastic remarks at them. "Did you know that for some reason Aeris can wear pink with red and it doesn't clash?" he continued.  
The two of them laughed. "Oh, get outa here Hanshi," Cloud scolded between bursts, and lightly tossed a rock in the head's general direction.  
"Well, fine, if you don't want the pleasure of my company, I'll rudely interupt someone else," Hanshi said, feigning deep hurt.  
Aeris and Cloud looked back to eachother.  
"So what's going to happen with us?" Aeris asked quietly.  
"We'll figure it out when this is all over," he assured her. "Better get some sleep."  
She nodded, and they retired to their respective tents.   
Cloud fell asleep quickly. That night was to mark the first of a very, very long string of ill-spent nights dreaming terrifying and completely aimless nightmares.  
It was Aeris. She was floating in front of him... he was in the Lifestream. He couldn't breath. He struggled to swim upward, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not move from the spot where he floated.  
"I'm not holding you," Aeris told him. "I'm not holding you."  
"Of course you're not!" he said.  
"I'm not holding you," she told him again.  
"I know that!"  
"I'm not the one who'se holding you," she repeated.  
"I know you're not! Who is?!"  
"I'm not holding you," she repeated.  
Cloud felt his lungs fill. He tried to speak again, but couldn't. He still couln't move.  
"Sepheros is holding you," said Aeris. "I'm not holding you. I'm not holding you. I'm not holding you. I'm not-"   
Aeris's sentence was cut off as she vanished, and so did the Lifestream. Cloud still floated, he still couldn't move, he still couldn't breath, but this time, it felt like something was grasping him, choking the life out of him. He was in utter blackness. But most horrifying of all was that Sephiroth's face, giant and terrifying, was hovering in front of him, an angry look on his eyes.   
Cloud woke up in a cold sweat. It was only a dream, but if felt more real than any dream he'd ever had.  
  
"And the latest in Wu Tai is somewhat of a shocker- the nation has all but obliterated the Shinra presence on their continent, but it appears that a new force had risen up in the west all of a sudden."  
Cloud stirred groggily, unpleasantly awakened from his fitful sleep.  
"Last night a strange group of Tain warriors attacked the city, causing severe damage and quite a few casualties. It is suspected that this attack was made by the long rumored to exist "Meteo Cult", a Tain group of fanatic renegades whose long term goals remain a mystery. No one is sure how the Meteo Cult was started or by whom, but Wu Tai is certainly looking into the matter. There are also rumors that the Meteo Cult has some form of association with Shinra."  
Cloud walked grumpily out of his tent. The others were crowded around a portable radio, listening to it with worried expressions on their faces. Yuffie, especially, looked rather upset.  
"What's going on?" he asked.  
"Hey, look who finally decided to show up," Elena smirked at him.  
"That's got to be the latest you've ever slept in," Aeris remarked. "What took you so long?"  
"Nothing," said Cloud. "What's the deal with the radio? Trouble in Wu Tai? I didn't catch all of it."  
"Damn cult," Yuffie grumbled. "They were rumored to exist for ages. Apparently, they're trying to get Meteo, a legendary magic that's supposedly at least as powerful as Ultima."  
"That doesn't sound good," Tifa murmered. "Where does this information come from?"  
"Taian rumors are the most untracable things in the world," Hanshi said nonchalantly before Yuffie had a chance to respond.  
"Are you going to go to Wu Tai to try and help?" asked Cloud, knowing Yuffie too well.  
"No," Yuffie shook her head. "First Shinra. Then I'll go."  
Cloud nodded.   
"Who the hell is that dude?" Hanshi suddenly broke in, pointing at a distant figure running towards them. Everybody looked.   
"Who knows?" said Cloud.  
"I'll go meet him," Red offered, and ran forward. Red was far swifter than any of the others, so it made sense for him to go.  
They watched as Red met the figure over the debris of rotting vegetation that littered the area of the Forgotten Capital, and soon, the two of them had turned toward the companions.  
When he was close enough, they saw that the man wore a jet black samurai helmet, carried a large blade across his back, and wore light but strong armor over a blue Taian robe. He was definately Taian.  
"Allow me to introduce Sir Kura Tiretsu," Red announced when they had reached the camp site. "He came here all the way from Wu Tai- apparently with some interesting information for us."  
"So spit it out, man," Barret grumbled. Barret was not a morning person.  
Kura walked right past him to Cloud. "You are Cloud Strife, I assume? I was told he was the one with the hair like a frightened chocobo."  
Someday I ought to bleach my hair, Cloud thought to himself. "Yeah," he said, "That's me. Who sent you?"  
"She did," Kura said, pointing at Aeris.  
"What?!"  
"I've never seen him before," Aeris shrugged. "Are you sure it was me?"  
"Unmistakably so, mistress," Kura nodded to her. "You were even wearing the same outfit you are now. You spoke to me in a vision, and instructed me to follow a scent you would provide- then I should speak to Cloud Strife, the one with the hair like a frightened chocobo. That is all."  
"I see," Cloud murmured. That was very strange- he wasn't the only one having wierd visions of Aeris saying odd stuff. It was almost like there were two Aerises, one still in the LifeStream saying gibberish to people, and one who had come back to physical life. "She didn't tell you what to do when you found us?"   
"No," Kura shook his head. "But she did leave me this." He pulled the blade from off his back. It was long and sleek, and the hilt had a strange, small indentation in it. The design around the indentation caught Cloud's eye.  
"Huh?" he said in surprise. "What's this indentation?"  
"I do not know," said Kura.  
"It looks like a Materia slot, but it's in the wrong place. But there's something just like that on the Ultima Weapon, with the same design."  
Cloud unsheathed his blade, looked at the odd little indentation. "Does this blade of yours have a name?" he asked.  
"She said it was called the Meteo Weapon," Kura said.  
"Interesting," Cloud mused. He removed his Ultima Materia from the normal Materia slot on his blade and placed it in the strange one. Green sparks flew as it entered, and when Cloud tried to pull it out again, it was stuck- fuzed with the Ultima Weapon.  
"Now that's just wierd," Cid commented. "Whatarwe gonna do with this guy?"  
"I think he better come along with us," Cloud muttered. "Better introduce him to the team. Then I need to have a word with him."  
He turned to Kura again. "Alright," he began, "You've already met Red-"  
"He introduced himself as Nanaki."  
"Oh?" Cloud looked questioningly at Red.  
"He seems to be too serious for the strange nickname Hojo gave me," Red shrugged.  
"Allright," said Cloud, "Most of us called him Red XIII, or Red for short, but yes, his real name is Nanaki. That's Tifa Lockhart- she's been with AVALANCHE from the beginning."  
"Hey," said Tifa.  
"Where?" asked Kura.  
"What?"  
"I don't understand. Why do you speak of hay?"  
"Boy," muttered Reno, "This guy must have been living under a rock for the past, what, maybe 200 years?"  
"It's a greeting," Tifa laughed.  
"Strange," murmered Kura. "Nice to meet you, Miss Lockhart. It is Miss, yes?"  
Tifa nodded. "Call me Tifa, though," she shrugged.  
"This is Aeris Gainsborough," Cloud continued.  
"Hello," Aeris smiled.  
"That's Barret-"  
"Stay outa my way," Barret grumbled.  
"Yes, stay out of his way. He's incredibly scary. That's Yuffie Kisaragi-"  
Kura fell to his feet immediately. "Princess!" he exclaimed. "Excuse me for now bowing sooner!"  
"Get up before I kick you up," Yuffie laughed. "Believe me, Cloud is more of a princess than I am."  
"Hey," said Cloud.  
"What is your obsession with hay, you strange people?" Kura asked in bafflement. Everyone cracked up.  
"Nevermind," said Cloud. "Okay, this is the other Taian of our group, Hanshi."  
"Wazzup mah homie," said Hanshi.  
"He does not speak our language?" Kura asked in surprise. More laughter.  
"No, he's just using stupid slang," Cloud informed the confused warrior. "This is Vincent Valentine, an ex-Turk. He's not very talkative, as you can see."  
Vincnet was sitting high on a mound of dirt, his back turned to everything.  
"He is insulting me!" Kura exclaimed. "He refuses to greet me! It is a challenge!"  
Kura unsheathed the huge sword that had been strapped across his back.  
"Uh, be careful with that-" Cloud cautioned.   
But Vincent had already turned around. "I mean no dishonor," he said quietly. "I'm just not good with formalities."  
Kura reluctantly sheathed his sword again.  
"Anyway," said Cloud, clearing his throat nervously, "To continue... this is Cid Highwind, the best pilot in the world."  
"Yer too kind, Cloud," Cid grinned. "Nice ta meet ya, what was it, Curl?"  
"Kura," said Kura.  
"Oh, right. Nice ta meet ya, Kura."  
"This is Elena, Reno, and Rude, also former Turks, although they quit more recently."  
"Hi," said Rude.  
"Yo," said Reno.  
"Hello," said Elena.  
Kura nodded to them.  
"And, last but not least, this is Reeve, a good friend of ours. He has an alias named Cait Sith who you might come into contact with."  
"Hi," Reeve greeted Kura warmly, extending his hand for a shake. Kura looked at the hand, then immitated the gesture, putting his hand out in front of Reeve. Reeve shrugged and took Kura's hand in his, then shook vigorously. "It's called a hanshake," he said. "We use it to greet eachother."  
"You mean AVALANCHE?" Kura asked, not really understanding.  
"No... a lot of people," said Reeve.  
"And I guess you already know me," Cloud changed the subject. "So I guess you'll be with us for a while now, huh?"  
"Yes," Kura nodded. "But I must warn you. I come from a cult called the Meteo Cult, and-"  
Yuffie and Hanshi had both leapt to their feet as soon as they heard the word "cult". Hanshi had aimed his gatling gun at the fellow, and Yuffie was ready to hurl the Conformer. Kura, likewise, had immediately drawn the Meteo Weapon.  
"Whoa, calm down!" Cloud intervened, jumping between them. "He's obviously on our side, you guys!"  
They reluctantly lowered their weapons.  
"What about this cult?" Cloud asked.  
"I ran from them, because I did not believe the principle they are founded on. I wanted to find Meteo, but when I realized the means they meant to use, I hated them, and I escaped to the mountains south of Wu Tai. It was in those mountains that Aeris instructed me to come here."  
"I don't understand," Aeris mused. "I never did that."  
"Maybe you were still in the Lifestream?" Tifa suggested.  
"That's possible, I suppose," she said thoughtfully. "But I don't know why I would have had that sword, or told him to join you guys. I wonder if we'll ever know?"  
"I think we will," said Cloud, who knew that Aeris was not still in the Lifestream when she started appearing in dreams- Cloud had seen her in a dream last night.  
"What makes ya so sure?" Barret asked suspiciously.  
Cloud sighed. He might as well tell them now.   
"I saw Aeris in a dream last night, too," he said. "I was floating in the Lifestream- drowning, really- and I saw her floating in front of me. She kept telling me, over and over again, that she wasn't the one holding me down."  
Silence for a while. It was scary. "I don't understand," Aeris said, beginning to cry.  
"Something could be taking the form of Aeris, and entering people's minds," Kura suggested. "Daemons can do such things."  
Cloud didn't really believe in daemons, but he decided to keep his mouth shut- Kura was obviously somewhat provocable.  
"Cloud, do these dreams feel very real?" asked Devonan. The Shiniji rarely spoke, and were generally forgotten until they did. Actually, they hadn't been in view at all recently; it was almost as if they'd become invisible. Could they do that? Who knew what they could do?  
"Daemons!" Kura suddenly shouted, drawing his sword yet again. Cloud quickly blocked him.   
"No, these are friends!" he protested. Kura stopped, but still held his sword at the ready.  
"They helped us get back together after being separated," Cloud explained.  
Kura backed off a little. Cloud turned back the Shiniji. "Yes," he told Devonan. "Very real."  
Devonan nodded. "It was from the Lifestream," he confirmed. "The Planet can send very, very strange messages to people that way."  
"But Aeris is right here," Cloud objected.  
"That's not Aeris," said Devonan.  
"What?!" Aeris cried. "How can you say that?!"  
"Devonan, I think you're mistaken-" Cloud started.  
"I'm never mistaken in these matters. That's not Aeris."  
"Yes she is!" Cloud yelled. He stormed off, and Aeris followed after him. The others sat in startled silence.  
  
After Kura had sat around and spoken with the companions for a time, Cloud came back out of his tent and approached them.  
"Sorry I yelled, everyone," he apolagized. "What did you mean by that, Devonan?"  
"Nothing," said Devonan. "You obviously don't want to hear it."  
"Devonan," said Aeris. "I understand you're just trying to help, but... here I am. I'm me. How could I not be Aeris?"  
It was a good question. She was there, and she was herself. How could she not be Aeris?  
"Fine," Devonan shrugged.   
"Kura," Cloud changed the subject.  
"Yes?"  
"Would you mind having a word with me in private?"  
"Not at all." Kura and Cloud walked off a ways.  
"So you got this sword... the Meteo Weapon, it's called?" Cloud began.  
Kura nodded. "That is what I was told."  
"Have you found any use for that little indentation in it?"  
"Well," Kura mused, "I suppose it is probably used for the same thing as the slot on your sword."  
"Right," Cloud nodded. "That's what I supposed, too. My sword is called the Ultima Weapon. And the Materia I put in is an Ultima Materia. Sort of implies something, doesn't it?"  
"It does," Kura agreed. "This is quite interesting. I must locate a Meteo Materia."  
"But the only way to gain one is if the Planet is plunged into war and feels it must release it," Cloud argued. "I don't want that to happen. If the Planet feels it must release Meteo, that's great. But I don't want it to happen because anyone made it."  
"Kul'Rann Jinn is already doing it," Kura shrugged. "Meteo will soon be released."  
"Who's Kul'Rann Jinn?" Cloud asked.  
"The leader of the MeteoCult," Kura explained. "He is already working on starting wars all over the globe. He was colaberating with Shinra last I heard."  
"I should have known Ashroth would take advantage of this," Cloud muttered. "This is serious. Kura, I know you feel you should have Meteo. But we have to stop this from happening. We can't let them start wars to unlock Meteo. It's only supposed to be used for when the Planet really needs it. Forcing the Planet to release it is wrong, and will get a lot of people killed. Understand?"  
"I suppose I must agree," Kura nodded. "For now, I will not attempt to bring forth Meteo."  
"Thanks," Cloud said dubiously. The two of them returned to the rest of AVALANCHE, both of them pondering the meaning behind these Materia-based Weapons. One question burned in both of their minds: Could there be more of these Weapons?  
  
SHINRA HQ  
  
Ashroth stood atop the tall rock he had been using to oversee the production of Midgar 2 for a month or so now. They were beginning to set down the foundations of the important buildings, and soon, people would start to flock to the city. Ashroth was already sending word of it out to people, and giving false speeches about how they had revolutionized Mako production so that they could do it without harming the Planet.   
But the most appealing thing about Midgar 2 would be that unlike the original Midgar, it would hold prosperity for all. There would be no plate, there would be no slums- everyone would see the sky, everyone would have both day and night, and everyone would have the life they'd dreamed of. It would be a paradise- that is, until Ashroth gained enough support to engulf the world. Then, everyone would be in the slums. There would be a plate, a plate over the whole Planet, and everyone would suffer. None of them would see the sky, they would all be poor, and none of them would have anything they had ever dreamed of. Pain, misery, and despair would be all they would ever know. It was such a beautiful vision of the future. Nothing could stop him from pulling it off. Nothing.  
  
Meanwhile, inside the laboratory of the makeshift Shinra HQ that overlooked the construction of Midgar 2, another was plotting far more important things.  
"You're not going to believe this," Hojo told Dr. Zephyn as he entered the lab, "But the Master has informed me that the importance of Ashroth is that he is one of the Three."  
Zephyn looked up in surprise and alarm. "You have got to be kidding me!" she exclaimed in disbelief. "Why would he choose Ashroth?!"  
"I honestly haven't the slightest idea," Hojo muttered. "But now I wish I hadn't gone to all the trouble to get ready to have him killed. Now I have to undo all the arrangements."  
"A shame," Zephyn muttered. "He sure is a big asswhipe."  
"You can say that again," Hojo agreed. He went and looked through the one-way mirror at X, who was practicing his swordfighting. He went back and forth in seemingly endless kata, going through tense, muscle-stretching motions with a rage and determination no ordinary soul could produce.  
"He's magnificent, isn't he?" Hojo muttered.  
"He is," Zephyn agreed as she stood beside Hojo. "Do you plan to duplicate this experiment?"  
"I don't think anyone besides Zack could handle it," Hojo shook his head.  
"I bet you Ashroth could," Zephyn suggested. "It might be funny, to see him turned into a raving maniac."  
Hojo smiled. "Ashroth doesn't even need it," he commented. "He could probably defeat Zack anyway. And that's excluding his odd... abilities."  
"Have you any leads on what the hell he actually does, by the way?" Zephyn asked.  
"No," Hojo shook his head. "It's the wierdest thing I've ever seen. He just looks at a person, and they burst into this blazing, supernatural flame. The fire is always either green, yellow, or blue- not natural at all. Even Mako can't have that kind of instantaneous effect."  
"Maybe the Master will reveal it to us," Zephyn suggested.  
"Or perhaps him when the Master's pawn reveals itself to him," Hojo nodded.  
"Do you think that the Enemy has revealed itself to the other Three yet?"  
"No. The Master said that his pawn and its rival would reveal at aproximately the same time, and he says it will be a while yet before his pawn reveals the plan to Ashroth and whoever the other two may be."  
"I hope we don't have to wait too much longer," Zephyn sighed. "I'm getting impatient. I've waited so long to see the fruits of our labor."  
"Patience," Hojo smiled. "The time will come soon enough."  
"What of your secret partner?" asked Zephyn.   
"His plan is already in motion from what I can tell," Hojo nodded. "I don't know if he's hoping to get rid of Cloud altogether, or lead him to something. He doesn't say much. But hey, for the amount of power he can provide me with, it's worth putting up with his oddities."  
"Has he mentioned the Event yet?"  
"No," Hojo shook his head. "I'm so sure he's involved somehow, but he just doesn't have a practical place in it. It's like he's a blemish. But I know he must be the final addition- I just can't figure out what the hell he's for."  
"I can't wait until it all falls together," Zephyn smiled cooly.  
  
TWO MONTHS LATER  
  
Cloud looked on at the large, tall, silver base that had been constructed for AVALANCHE. To the side was an expansive pad where the Highwind and the buggy rested, and inside was a large room for each member, a large living room, a large war room, and anything else they could have imagined they wanted other than a video arcade, which Hanshi was very mad they refused to include.   
"Time to move in," he smiled. Aeris, who was standing next to him, put her arm around his shoulder and smiled contentedly.  
"It's great," she said, though her mind seemed to be on something else.  
"Well..." Cloud began. "Shinra hasn't been very active lately. It'll probably be a while before we have to fight them again. Now that we're at sort of an impass, would you like to... well..."  
"Go on another date?" Aeris smiled at him. He grinned back at her and nodded.  
"But Cloud," she joked, "I already paid you."  
Cloud laughed. "Was it really so many years ago?" he recalled. His mind wandered through past times, reliving all the old moments with Aeris; running from the Shinra soldiers inside the church, leaping across giant heaps of trash. But now, when he remembered past times with Aeris, it was happy, because there was one memory that didn't haunt him anymore: Aeris's death. For some reason, his mind suddenly blurred a bit, like his conciousness was vibrating, and when it was done, he felt just a tad light-headed. His thoughts soon moved away from the quick, odd occurance and back to his blissful memories of times with Aeris.  
But Cloud's happiness never carried over to his long, restless nights. Every night now, he would dream that he was in a horrifying situation; he would be in the grip of a giant monster, drowning in Lifestream, held to the point of suffocation by giant, live vines; and every time, Aeris would be there, insisting over and over and over again that she was not the one doing this to him. But that was obvious. Of course she wasn't doing it to him; giant monsters, Lifestream, and live vines were. What could it possibly mean? But during the day, Cloud tried to forget his troubled nights, and his happiness over having Aeris back consumed him.  
"Cloud?" Aeris was staring him in the face.  
"Sorry," Cloud said, shaking his head. "I was just reminiscing."  
"About what?" she inquired.  
"You," he shrugged. "I missed you."  
"I'm glad to hear that," she whispered, and kissed him gently on the lips. Then she smiled at him and brightly turned to the brand new AVALANCHE HQ. "Let's go check it out!" she exclaimed happily, and ran toward the building.  
Cloud sighed happily. It didn't matter if she freaked him out in his nightmares. Aeris was back, and the world was perfect.  
  
All around the world, the news spread. The once-mighty Shinra Corporation had finally found a new way to produce Mako, one that would forever recycle it and refrain from destroying the Planet. Not only that, but they were sending airships to every major town in the world for free rides to the city- no one would have to spend ages journeying there, and they'd get to ride in comfort and style for no change. It was simply too good of an idea to pass up.  
But there was one thing that discouraged some from going to the new Midgar 2: AVALANCHE was protesting, making claims that Shinra had not found a way to recycle Mako, and was lying. Many believed them and refrained from going to Midgar 2- AVALANCHE was world-renowned as the saviors of the Planet, and many trusted them.  
But it was no time at all before Midgar 2 was thriving. And rumors began to fly that Supreme General Ashroth's next move was to plan an attack on AVALANCHE HQ itself.  
  
THREE DAYS LATER  
  
All the members of AVALANCHE were gathered in the HQ's war room. Now was the time to strike Shinra- before they could strike AVALANCHE. They were powerful now, yes, but it could be done. They'd fought their way into Midgar before, why not Midgar 2? It made perfect sense.  
"Allright," Cloud began the meeting. "We're here to discuss our final, decisive strike against Shinra. We want this to be over and done with. We want Shinra to be out of the picture."  
Everyone nodded. They all felt that way.   
"Then we can discuss what to do about Sepheros," Cloud added.  
"He seems to have dissapeared," Reeve pointed out.  
"I know," Cloud acknowledged, "But I don't think he has. He's still out there somewhere, and I know he's bent on killing us all. We have to be prepared to fight him when the time comes. I'm betting he's forming some sort of scheme right now."  
"But how could he, if we have these bracelets?" Aeris asked, pointing to the anti-Mako bracelet she wore.  
"He'll find a way," Cloud sighed. "He always does."  
"I don't know how he could get to us," Aeris shrugged. "Maybe he gave up."  
"You don't know Sephiroth- Sepheros- like I do."  
"I guess not," Aeris shrugged.  
Cloud started to say something, but he was promptly interupted by several booming crashes against the walls of the buildings, sending the alarms blaring.   
The members of AVALANCHE leapt up from their places and ran to the room's large, wall-covering radar, and Cloud flicked a switch that brought up the security layout of the entire complex. About fifty or so humans were closing in from all sorts of sides- and apparently, there was some pretty hefty damage done to the base's armored exterior from them. They must be using magic or some form of explosives.  
"Allright, everyone head to your alloted defense stations," Cloud ordered, flipping a switch that activated the built-in machine gun turrets that surrounded the base. Unfortunately, about half of them had been knocked out- the attackers must have carefully planned this.  
Cloud ran to the huge deck that looked out to the west. All the AVALANCHE members' rooms were in this area, and each one had an opening onto this expansive deck, but Cloud was the one it meant the most to. Seeing the sun set was always soothing and relaxing in a time when Cloud was frustrated with the way his life had turned out.  
He looked out over the deck and saw that about ten of the attackers were coming from the west. He jumped up to the railing and made a flying leap from the high point, landing securely on his feet, and charged the attackers. However, their next attack went right over his head- it was several simultaneous castings of Comet 2, and they all slammed into the deck and blew it to pieces.  
"They're going to pay dearly for that," Cloud muttered.  
"Let me help," said a rarely heard voice from behind Cloud. He whirled around to see Keveki, the red Shiniji. "I can help you smash them. Do you have Ifrit?"  
"No," Cloud shook his head, "I'm afraid not."  
"That's okay," Keveki nodded, "We'll make do with normal fire. Cast Fire 3- I can take most of them out with it."  
"Allright," Cloud nodded. He'd seen demonstrations of what the Shiniji could do to the power of cast magic spells, and believed the words that Keveki spoke. The enemies were getting close now, and Cloud could see that they were dressed as samurai. They must be Taian. Why would Tains be all the way over here just to attack AVALANCHE? Were they working for Shinra?  
Cloud didn't have time to think. "Fire 3!" he yelled. Normally, when he cast a spell, he'd feel it's power surging out of him- the first few times one used Materia, it was a sort of dizzying experience due to the amount of power that was released from one's body, but Cloud was used to it by now. But when it was amplified to hundreds of times its original capacity, it gave Cloud quite a headache to release such a wave of flames.  
It had the desired effect, though- The flames, like a wave, swept over the attacking samurai, burning them to a crisp.  
"I got all nine of them," Keveki congradulated himself. "Not bad, eh?"  
"I was beginning to think you guys didn't have personalities," Cloud smiled, glad the Shiniji had made a remark that was something along the lines of humor.  
"We just don't talk much, that's all," Keveki shrugged. "We like kicking ass as much as you do."  
Cloud laughed in surprise at that. "Come on," he said, "We better go see how the others are doing."  
Running around to the east side of the base, he saw three more miniature comets zoom out of the sky and slam into the base's wall, creating three gaping holes. "Dammit," he muttered, and ran on. He soon saw Red XIII, Vincent, and Cid confronted by a squad of the samurai. Cloud rushed into the area from behind the samurai and took them all out with a good blast of Ultima.   
"Just in the nick 'o time, Cloud," Cid congradulated him.  
"Cloud," Red mused, "Is it just me, or was that Ultima a little bit... bigger than usual?"  
Cloud thought about it for a moment. "You know, I think it was."  
He turned the Ultima Weapon on its side and held the hilt out. His Ultima Materia was still embedded in the strange design in the hilt, but this was the first time he'd ever used it when it was in there.  
"Now that is quite interesting," Red mused, instantly making the connection.  
"Meteo has to exist," Cloud suddenly said firmly.  
"What? Huh?" Cid was totally lost.  
"Remember when Kura first got here? He had this blade called the 'Meteo Weapon'. It had the same indentation as the Ultima Weapon! Do you realize what this means?"  
"That Meteo exists, and the war in Wu Tai is supposed to unleash it!" Red concluded.  
"We have to stop a war from breaking out in Wu Tai!" Cloud smacked his forehead as he realized the situation.  
"What the FUCK are you guys talking about?!" Cid yelled, who hated being left in the dark.  
The conversation was interupted by seven more meteorites slamming into the roof the HQ.  
"Shit," muttered Cloud. The three of them ran up to the top of a hill to see what all the commotion was about, and saw that about fifty more of the samurai were running at the area from all sides.   
"What do we do now?!" Cloud threw his arms up in exasperation. "Whoever these guys are, they must really want us gone!"  
"You haven't figured out who they are yet?" Red asked in surprise.  
"Wait a minute-" Cloud's face suddenly lit with realization. "But- why would they want us out of the picture?"  
"No time to talk about that now," said Cid.  
"Right," Cloud nodded. "Okay, there's about twelve of them heading our way. Let's split up and hit them with a three-way attack and get them in a crossfire with the strongest spells we have. Got it?"  
"Right," Cid and Red nodded, being used to conceding to Cloud's now-familiar leadership of the team.  
Cloud ran out to the left. He silently crept along the rotting ground of the area of the Forgotten Capital, using the many dead trees and dying bushes that lay about to cover him. But something seemed to be fooling with his head. Every few seconds, everything would just blurr, and he'd get the strangest feeling like his mind was being squeezed. It began to get worse. His vision completely fogged over. His head began to ache. He felt like he was being rubbed all over his head with warm cloths. Soon the pain began to increase. Clutching his head, he fell to the ground, groaning. Then there was darkness.  
  
Cloud awoke. It was deep into the night. He was lying right where he'd been when he fell. What had happened? Had they left him for dead?   
He stood up, and felt that it was poring. Just my luck, he thought to himself.  
What had happened back there? The feeling he'd gotten before passing out had been very familiar, but he couldn't remember where he'd felt it. He looked up. Out of the fog, two figures were coming towards him. Were they looking for him? He started towards them, but stopped abruptly when he saw that the first of the two figures was Hojo.  
"Cloud," Hojo nodded. "We've been looking for you. We have a surprise for you."  
"I think you'll be very happy to see it," smirked the other one, a tall, blonde woman in a lab coat similar to Hojo's. Who was she? Cloud had never seen her before.  
"What do you want?" he asked apprhehensively.  
"We don't want anything," Hojo shrugged.  
"That's right," the woman agreed. "HE does."  
And then a third figure came out of the fog, right between them. He wore a SOLDIER outfit just like Cloud's. His hair was jet black and fell down to his knees. His muscles were practically bursting through his clothes. But Cloud could never forget his face. It was Zack.  
"Zack-" he said in astonished disbelief.  
"Go ahead, Zack," said the young woman.  
Zack leapt toward Cloud like a wild animal, and when he hit, knocked him to the ground and began to tear at him. Cloud fealt his skin torn from his body and his muscles devoured by the raving Zack. Screaming and writhing, he felt his body be torn to shreds, and could still feel it even after he should have been dead.  
"Cloud! Cloud! Cloud!" yelled Zack as his victory consumed him.  
"No! No!" Cloud screamed in agony.  
"CLOUD, PLEASE!!" screamed Aeris, very near to tears.  
Cloud looked around. He was on a bed in a small room. Aeris was standing over him, looking at him with the most deeply worried expression he'd ever seen on her face.  
He leapt up from the bed, not understanding how he'd been saved or where he'd been taken. He backed fearfully into the wall, shaking.  
"Cloud?" Aeris asked. She still sounded like she was about to cry. "What's wrong?" She slowly approached him.  
When she was near enough, he collapsed into her arms like a boy who's had a bad dream collapses into his mother's arms.   
"I can't believe this," he choked out.  
"What?" she asked, her voice dripping with concern.  
"I... I can't stop dreaming... the nightmares get worse and worse... and every time I can feel them as though they're really happening..."  
The other members of AVALANCHE had gathered in the room to see what was happening.   
"We'll work it out," Aeris assured him.  
  
"I woke up where I fell during the fight," Cloud began. "It was really foggy, but I saw two people come out of the mist. One of them was Hojo, I know that. The other was a blonde woman who wore the same kind of lab coat as Hojo, but I have no idea who she was. They talked to me a bit, and then Zack came out from behind them- he looked TOTALLY different- and he just... attacked me, like a wild animal. And then I was in the infirmary with Aeris."  
The members of AVALANCHE were now sitting in the War Room, discussing what was going on with Cloud.   
"Cloud," Red began uneasily. "Do you know what you were saying when I found you?"  
"I thought I was out cold," Cloud protested.  
"You were, but you were muttering something," said Red. "You were muttering 'I'm Cloud' over and over again. That's a little too familiar to ignore."  
Tifa abruptly looked up at that. "Cloud," she said before anyone else could, "Do you remember how you joined SOLDIER?"  
"Hey, that's not happening again," Cloud told her firmly. "Don't worry, I'm never going to take on Zack's memories again."  
"I'm not too sure about that," Tifa told him.  
"Why?"  
"Because-" Tifa looked around at everyone. She couldn't say it. She would have to talk to him alone later. "Nothing." She sat down again. Everyone threw her suspicious looks. They all remembered how she hadn't said anything for a very long time when she knew something was wrong during the Meteor incident. Was she hiding something again? Why?  
"Whatever," said Cloud. "That is kind of wierd, but maybe it's just left over from my Mako poisoning?"  
"I suppose that's possible," Red admitted.   
"How did the attack end?" Cloud asked.  
"Kura whiped them out with a few good blasts of Comet 2 and a little help from Kicharin," Reeve explained. "It was quite dazzling to see so many meteorites flying all over the place. A shame you missed it."  
"They were of the MeteoCult for sure," Kura said sternly. "I believe that Supreme General Ashroth of Shinra has made a deal with the leader of the MeteoCult. They will undoubtedly soon be making a full-scale attack on Wu Tai. If that happens, and Shinra in involved as well, Meteo will almost certainly rise."  
"Well then we can't let that happen," Yuffie burst in. "I have to go to Wu Tai. I have to warn father!"  
"You sure you want to go?" asked Cloud. "Right when we're about to start full-scale war on Shinra?"  
Yuffie nodded. "I can't sit around without doing anything when I know what's happening," she sighed. "I have to do something."  
"Allright," Cid stood up. "Tell ya what, I'll show ya how ta pilot the Tiny Bronco. You oughta be fine."  
Hanshi stood up. "That won't be neccesary, buddy boy," he announced. "I know how to fly those planes. I'll take Yuffie."  
"That okay with you?" Cid asked Yuffie.   
"Fine," Yuffie shrugged.  
"Let's go!" Hanshi yelled, and charged out the door.  
"Wait up!" yelled Yuffie, and she ran after him. She ducked back in again to yell a final farewell to everyone and a thanks to Cid for letting them borrow the TB, and then she went out again.  
"Got to admire that girl," Reeve smiled to himself.  
"Yeah, till that punk kid messes her head up," Barret mumbled.  
Cid grinned at him. "Yer such a worry-wart, Berry," he said maliciously. Barret ignored him.  
  
MIDGAR 2  
  
Ashroth had just moved into his brand new office at the top of the tall skyscraper that was the new Shinra HQ. It had been quite some time since Shinra had had a real HQ, and it was good to be in a real office, especially one with no holes in the walls.  
Ashroth heard a knock on his door. Must be Argad. "Come in," he said stiffly.  
The door opened and, just as he'd assumed, General Argad walked in. "Sir," he saluted. "We've already got every airship we sent full of passengers ready to move into Midgar 2. They're all going for it, sir."  
"Excellent," Ashroth grinned. "Things are going quite smoothly. You are dismissed, General."   
The general nodded, and left. He congradulated himself again for getting on Ashroth's good side so effectively. Yes, there were some men who screwed up at their jobs- like that Kalakran, who had recently been demoted to a Colonel- but not Argad. Do your job right, and the world gives you everything you could want. High pay, lots of vacation time, and a place on the good side of the big cheese. Doing well in your post was always beneficial, and Argad was determined to be the best general Shinra had ever had.  
Back in his office, Ashroth smirked to himself. Everything was going so smoothly, it couldn't possibly fail now. But something had been troubling him as of late. For some reason, he'd started dreaming. The dreams were very strange and occured every night. He would be walking through a crowd of weak, helpless people, looking at each one of them and watching them smolder into ashes as he obliterated their souls, when he would get to the last one, a shadow standing in front of him, who would challenge him in a loud voice. He would look at this shadow, but nothing would happen. Then the shadow would draw a great blade, and Ashroth would draw his blade, and the two of them would meet. The shadow would always look him right in the eyes, and never be destroyed as everyone else was. And then Ashroth would always awake in a cold sweat. He could not understand the signifigance of this dream, but in continually came to him, and it felt far too real to be just an ordinary dream.  
He felt his sword calling him. He stood up and walked over to a large painting of a great battle that rested on his wall and slowly slid it to the right, revealing a large safe. He deftly put in the combination, and the safe swung open to reveal a much smaller door. Ashroth put his hand on the surface of the door and it came open. Underneath was another door with two keyholes. Ashroth took out two small keys and turned them simultaniously in the two locks, and the door came open. Inside, a hilt stuck out at him, and he took it in his hands and pulled it out. It was a magnificent weapon. He had found it many years ago. A dream had come to him with a great, dark shadow looming over him and whispering "Ultima" to him. When he awoke, he felt a calling, a calling to go to the north. He went out and followed the calling, and he found this blade stuck in a rock. He pulled it out, and felt its power surge within him. Ever since then, he'd kept this sword, and every now and then it called to him. He'd had Hojo examine it, and was told it was a legendary blade called an "Ultima Weapon". So Ashroth had kept this sword, and it gave him a feeling of power whenever he held it.  
  
AVALANCHE HQ  
  
Cloud gathered everyone in the War Room the next day. Hanshi and Yuffie weren't there, and it felt a little strange not to have them around- but they had to get ready to start the battle against Shinra up again.   
"Allright, guys," Cloud called the meeting to order. "We're going to do this slowly. We have to nuetralize all the places that Shinra is getting resources from. I think the place to start with is Corel. They don't get as much from Corel as they do from the Mythril Mines, but the people of Corel need help, and fast. Everyone agree?"  
They all nodded. It was definately the way to go. They'd all had enough of watching Shinra destroy people's lives, and the people in Corel had had about the worst of it.  
They enthuisiastically started toward the exit, but suddenly, Vincent yelled "Wait!"  
Everyone stopped and turned around. He was still in his seat.  
"We cannot do this," he said.  
"Why not?" Cloud asked in bafflement. They had to. Why couldn't they?  
"Explain, dammit," Cid rushed him on.  
"Don't you realize that would be helping both Shinra and the MeteoCult?" Vincent asked. "We'd just be contributing to the Planet's state of war. The more war that rages on the surface, the more likely the Planet is to raise Meteo."  
Everyone stopped. They thought about it, trying to find a way around it. There wasn't one. He was dead right, just like always.  
"Damn," Cloud yelled, stamping his foot. "Shinra's got us stuck here on our asses. What can we do?"  
"I think that might have been Ashroth's plan when he made a bargain with the MeteoCult," Vincent suggested. "He's a very clever man."  
"Fuck Meteo, we gotta go anyway!" Barret argued. "I don't care if it'll release Meteo, people in Corel 'r dyin! I ain't gonna sit around and let that happen!"  
"Barret, we have to. It'll just put everyone in danger if the MeteoCult gets Meteo. We'll just have to hope that Yuffie and Hanshi can stop the war from happening in Wu Tai."  
Barret looked at the floor. "Damn," he muttered. "God... dammit. Corel's been under Shinra too long."  
"We know," Tifa comforted him. "We'll liberate them as soon as we can."  
"I wanna hear Spikey-ass promise that," Barret said stubbornly, looking at Cloud.   
Cloud nodded. "It's a promise. First thing after the wars in Wu Tai have been suppressed."  
  
SHINRA HQ  
  
Ashroth had fallen asleep in his chair. Paperwork always bored him, and sometimes he'd just ignore it. He'd been up late last night, and felt sleep was neccessary. Dreams began to come to him.  
He was deep in a forest somewhere. The trees were a rugged shade of black, and it was very dark. He looked around. He took a few steps. This was real. It had to be. He could feel himself fully concious. He pinched himself, and it hurt. What was this?  
Then, Sepheros walked out from behind one of the trees.  
"Keer," said Sepheros. No one had called him Keer in many, many years.  
"What do you want, Sepheros?" Ashroth snapped. "What is this?"  
"I'm not Sepheros," said Sephiroth. "He is simply a tool of mine, who I can use easily because we share the same counciousness. I am the one and only Sephiroth."  
"But you're dead!" Ashroth protested.  
"You have no concept of death whatsoever," Sephiroth told him. "I am far more alive than you or anyone else on the surface of the Planet."  
"What do you want from me?" Ashroth asked.  
"Do not ask questions, Keer," Sephiroth ordered. Ashroth tried to make a retort, but could not.  
"Ultima," said Sepheros.  
"What?"  
"Ultima."  
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"  
"Ultima."  
"Shut the fuck up!"  
"Ultima."  
"Bastard!"  
"Remember that you are Ultima. You have already found Meteo. Find Satruna."  
"What?! What the fuck?!"  
"Ultima."  
"Shut the fuck up you bastard!"  
Ashroth was on his desk.  
"Sir!" yelled the voice of his secretary. "Are you allright?"  
"Of course I'm allright!" Ashroth raged, jumping up to face the voice.  
Ashroth's secretarty screamed as she burst into bright yellow flames and was melted into a pile of human sludge.  
"Oops," said Ashroth. "Shit. Now I need a new secretary."  
He flopped down in his chair. What the hell had that been? It was too real to be a dream, and yet it happened while he slept. What could be going on?  
Then Ashroth remembered the last thing he'd been told. "Remember that you are Ultima. You have already found Meteo. Find Satruna."  
Meteo? He didn't have Meteo. How could he "be" Ultima? What the hell was Satruna?  
Ashroth shook his head in bafflement. This was the most puzzling thing he had ever encountered, and for the first time in his life, Keer Ashroth felt completely and totally helpless.  
  
AVALANCHE HQ, THAT EVENING  
  
It was getting very late. Cloud could not sleep no matter how hard he tried.  
He was sitting silently on his sofa, deep in thought. Suddenly, he thought he heard a very vague voice, but he could not hear what it was saying. He looked around.   
"Hello?" he said quietly. No response.   
Cloud shook his head. He was just hearing things. There was too much on his mind right now.  
But then, he heard it again. It was still a very faint whisper, but there was no mistaking it. "Book of the Ancients" it whispered to him.  
Cloud looked around, his pulse racing.  
"Book of the Ancients," it repeated.   
"Who's there?" he asked, a little louder.  
Silence.  
He shook his head, and sat down again, but remained alert. Twenty minutes passed. His thoughts returned to the vast emptiness they had been dwelling on before.  
Cloud heard a light tap on his door. A vague, masculine hope that it was Aeris snuck into his head, but he quickly dismissed the thought, knowing he hadn't the time to think about that sort of thing when there was so much going on right now.   
"Come in," he softly called, and the door opened to reveal Tifa bearing a worried and apprehensive expression on her face.  
"What is it?" he asked. His voice was full of concern and caring. Whenever he was alone with Tifa, he always felt so close to her, almost like a part of him deep inside was trying to break out and make him feel for her as more than a friend. But it was such a buried feeling, overpowered by his love for Aeris. Times like this confused him, but also made him far more perceptive and attentive to Tifa.  
"I... Cloud, last time, I kept my mouth shut, and it resulted in disaster," she began. "I'm not goign to do that this time. We have to talk."  
Cloud couldn't think what she was talking about, but the seriousness of her tone made him feel that he should and that something was very wrong. "Sit down," he said. She sat down next to him on his couch.  
"Cloud... think back to the Meteor Incident, okay?" she began.  
"Okay," Cloud nodded.  
"Remember how it went?" she continued. "We went through a lot. Remember how you had taken on Zack's memories, and because he was a Sephiroth clone, Sephiroth could use that to control you?"  
"Right," Cloud nodded. "But I'm over that now... what's wrong?"  
"Just keep thinking on," she urged. "We went through a lot more after that- battling the Weapons, and all- then, do you remember the evening before we flew to the North Crater to confront Sephiroth.  
Cloud began to think. "No," he said. "I don't. What happened?"  
Tifa looked at the floor. She began to cry.  
"Tifa? What is it?" he asked. He was so frustrated with himself for upsetting her that he almost started to lose it, but kept himself from yelling.  
"You sent everyone home first, to make sure they really meant to fight Sephiroth. Don't you remember that?"  
Cloud desperately searched his memories. He couldn't remember it. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember anything of the sort. What was she talking about? He couldn't remember anything from the evening before that. Why not? It didn't make any sense. What had clogged his mind up?  
"But wait..." he protested as he realized something. "You and I wouldn't have had anywhere to go. Our home was gone, remember?"  
"You're right," said Tifa. "We didn't have anywhere to go. Oh, Cloud..." Her tears began to poor on even more. "I can't believe you've forgotten. I... I want so much to tell you... How I feel... What I'm thinking... but I can't..."  
But Cloud had already figured it out. He didn't really know why, but the next thing he said came into his head as though it had been planted there.  
"Tifa," he said softly. "Words aren't the only thing that tell people what you're thinking." Where had he learned to talk like that? Cloud had never uttered a sentence like that before.  
But for some reason, those words startled her. She looked up at him. "Cloud... you do remember," she whispered. "You remembered that. That's what I told you. You wanted to tell me... that you love me. But I already knew. I loved you too Cloud... and I still do. You knew that, didn't you?"  
He nodded. "I did..." he said. He didn't know why, but he did seem to remember Tifa saying that. What was happening? Tifa was only his friend- he was in love with Aeris. Wasn't he?  
"Wow..." he said. "I don't understand this. I remember you saying that. I know that I liked you back when we were kids... it was why I joined SOLDIER... to impress you..."  
"Why you what?" she asked, looking up at him suddenly again. She looked like she was about to snap like a twig if he said the wrong thing.  
"Wha... I joined SOLDIER, you know? How do you think I got this uniform?"  
Tifa burst into tears. "How has this happened again?!" was all she could get out, and she ran from the room.  
  
Cloud didn't know what to think. He was so confused. He sat and thought for another long while, and then heard another tap on the door. "Come in," he called quietly. Maybe it was Tifa again.  
But this time, it was Aeris. "Cloud... I heard something. It sounded like crying. Are you okay?"  
Cloud didn't know if he should tell her what happened or not. Would Tifa want that? Probably not.  
"Yeah... it was nothing."  
"Okay," said Aeris. "Well, then, I guess that's what it was. Nothing. Nothing at all."  
"Right," said Cloud. Was it really nothing? Well, Tifa had been really upset- why? He couldn't remember all of a sudden.   
"Cloud, I was thinking we should go for a walk," said Aeris. "Just you and me. I really want to spend some time alone with you."  
Cloud couldn't resist. "Okay," he said. "Let's go."  
The two of them quietly crept out of AVALANCHE HQ and into the field, talking of many things. Cloud was really happy now. Being around Aeris always made him happy. Had he just been upset before? He couldn't remember. He felt like something bad had just happed before he went on the walk with Aeris, but didn't really think about it much- he was with Aeris, and that was where he was meant to be.  
  
Tifa whiped her tears away. That had not gone well at all. What was she doing? She had to help Cloud again! For some reason, he was taking Zack's memories on again. She had helped him rediscover himself before, she could do it again. She quickly ran from her room back to his.  
But he wasn't there. He was gone. Why? What was going on? Had he gone crazy? Did he think he was a Sephiroth clone again? Was Sepheros controlling him? This was too ominous to get over. She ran to rally everyone else up.   
Soon, everyone was gathered sleepily in the War Room to discuss what was going on. Everybody except Cloud. Wait- there was someone else missing, too.  
"Where's Aeris?" Tifa suddenly asked. Everyone looked around.  
"Shit, we're down two," Cid said glumly.  
"This is just too wierd..." Elena whispered.  
  
Cloud and Aeris walked blissfully through the fields of the Midgar Area, happily conversing over unimportant matters.  
They came to a stopping place in their conversation, and stopped walking. "What do you want to do now?" Aeris asked.  
"Anything you want," Cloud said. He meant it, too.  
"Really?" she asked.  
"Really," he grinned at her.  
"Okay," she said. "I'll tell you what. I'm going to blindfold you."  
"Okay," he said. He didn't really think about how stupid it would be to get sexual with Aeris in the middle of the Midgar Plains- he didn't really think about much at all. He just went along with it like an idiot.  
Aeris took out a hanky and tied it around Cloud's eyes.  
"Now," she said. "This may hurt just a bit."  
Cloud almost drooled with anticipation. He's a man, afterall.  
He was totally unprepared for what actually happened, though. He was expecting a touch from Aeris, but what he felt instead was cold and hard. It penetrated his back and came out his front side. He gasped, choking, and fell to his knees. What had happened?  
He was barely concious, and his vision was blurred, but he could still tell what was happening. Aeris removed the blindfold. He turned around to see what he'd most feared: Sepheros, standing over him, holding his great Murasame through Cloud's chest, grinning wickedly.  
"I've finally killed you," he said maliciously. "She said I couldn't cheat, but I did it. All it took was a little exploiting of your unfortunate situation."  
Cloud tried to talk, but he couldn't. He felt that he was beginning to die. His senses were being closed off, his conciousness leaving him. He turned his head around. The last thing he saw before he died was Aeris looking down at him with a big, impish smile on her face.  
  
Here ends Volume III- Opposing Powers of the saga Final Fantasy VII: Beyond Apocalypse. The saga is continued in Volume IV: Wars of Wu Tai.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Summary of Volume 3: Opposing Powers  
  
Cloud takes Aeris back to the chocobo farm, and everyone is amazed to see her, and she is basically back, but says she does not remember anything after stopping Meteor. They hear in the news the next day that a huge cult has arisen in Wu Tai and is causing havoc there such as terrorism. Yuffie decides to stay with them to fight Shinra, though. So do Barret and Red, because Shinra is still threatening their homes. They build a base of operations at the sight of the Forgotten Capital with a landing pad for the Highwind and a lot of stuff. Then they prepare to attack Shinra for what they hope will be the final blow, but that night they are attacked by a strange force of warriors that they have never seen, they seem to use a lot of Comet and Comet 2. They fight them off eventually and manage to capture one of the leaders. They finally make him talk by befriending him. Find that his name is Kura, and the group he is part of calls themselves the MeteoCult because of the legend of Meteo. They are determined to plunge the world into extreme war so that the Planet will unleash Meteo to them, and they can rule Wu Tai. They had a deal with Shinra to attack the companions and try to destroy them, but after that fight he expects that they will break the deal and become enemies with Shinra. Yuffie decides that she absolutely must go back to Wu Tai and warn her father. They give her the Tiny Bronco and Hanshi goes with her, she flies off to Wu Tai. Meanwhile, Reeve decides it's time to try and rally people up for a positive organization against Shinra and the MeteoCult. He decides to take Cait Sith to the Gold Saucer and make some money off chocobo racing so he can start a counter to Midgar, which he will put in the place of the Forgotten Capital. Ashroth finishes building Midgar 2 and advertises to the world that he has found a way to recycle Mako, and that he is no longer killing the planet. He immediately has Hojo get to work on a way to control Sepheros so that he might actually be able to do this (he's lying.) People begin to flock to Midgar 2, especially since Shinra is sending airships all over the world to give people free rides to Midgar 2. Meanwhile, the companions decide to take back Corel so that they can offer Reeve its resources in constructing his new city, which he will call Cetra. They organize an attack and drive Shinra out of Corel. General Ashroth orders that the airship fleet be used to take the Sister Ray to Midgar 2 for repairs so that it can be used to destroy Cetra. Cloud and Aeris go out to spend a night alone, Aeris is leading Cloud to a surprise she has for him when Sepheros flies down and kills him. End of Volume 3: Rise of the MeteoCult  
  
  
  
  
  



	4. Volume 4- Wars of Wu Tai

Final Fantasy VII: Beyond Apocalypse

****

Volume 4: Wars of Wu Tai

PREFACE

__

The Opening to the "Book of the Ancients":

Long, long ago, all was right within the universe. Everything was in its place, and the light reigned over the dark, keeping peace and preventing turmoil. But through some kind of intervention in the eternal destiny, a being of enormous power was able to rise up and attack the light by attacking End. Because End had more of the light than the dark, the light suffered more, and the dark attacked it in its weak state. 

Finally, when the battles between the two raged fiercely, End had no choice but to be split, and the result was the two Great Forces. Their constant battle over the universe caused turmoil to erupt and the universe was not well. The dark consumed parts of the universe, while other areas were so wholy consumed by the light that there was not enough balance and whole galaxies were destroyed. 

You, oh Cetra, will spawn the One who can bring events to balance again, the Protector. Who this Protector will be you shall not know until he or she comes. But be ready to lose all for the sake of the balance.

The Triad will converge and meet at one point, the ends driven by the same force, and the Triad will exist as one, though not equally. And the dark will attempt to destroy you by means of the First Dark Pawn, but it will be thwarted, or balance shall be restored in favor of the dark and the Event will not happen.

Now, there will be these positions in the Event: The Protector and the Pawn, the two Triads, the Guardian and the Crusaders on the other side, and the Abomination. The Abomination will be a shade, and must not be allowed to carry out its mission, or the Event will not happen.

SOMEWHERE...

Voices. Voices, all around, so many of them, all talking at the same time. It was impossible to work them out. All crowding in, closing in, jumbling together in a great heap that did not fit together at all, much like the storyline of Final Fantasy VIII. 

"I'm a but I cannot what a you no by now let's all woe is no! and don't besides I..." was what it sounded like. Impossible to understand.

"Don't freak out."

"Who?! Who's there?"

"You know me."

"It's... you."

"Yes. But not as you knew me. I've come a long way. Everyone calls me 'The Protector' or 'The savior' now. It's wierd."

"It makes sense."

"I'll take that as a compliment, even though you're reffering to the wrong actions of mine. I've still got much, much more important things to do."

"This place is so wierd. I don't understand it."

"You'll get used to it. But don't worry, you won't be here for long. You'll go."

"But then I won't be me."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. Everyone who comes here leaves as something else... right?"

"Not everyone. Maybe once in a billion years, someone won't because of our will."

"Our?"

"Myself and the others on the top. We don't even leave at all."

"I don't understand."

"You don't need to. You need to understand other things. You have a disease that needs curing."

"What is it?"

"It's called the Consumption. That's the only name there has ever been for it."

"What does it do?"

"It destroys its victims mentally. It's the reason you're here, actually."

"I remember!"

"Do you?"

"Yes... I'm sorry."

"That's okay. I can never be with my true love anyway, and it's not you. I have something more important to do."

"What?" 

"Whip you into shape. Hehe."

AVALANCHE HQ

The buggy pulled slowly into the driveway next to the tall, silver AVALANCHE HQ; the way it sort of slid into position and mellowly stopped mimiced the depression of its passengers. Tifa, Elena, Barret, and Vincent all leapt out of the vehicle and began to trudge back to the HQ.

The search for Cloud and Aeris had been going on for a week now, still with no results. The Highwind had been doing most of it, of course, schouring the whole Midgar Continent for a trace of the two of them, but nothing had come up. No one understood.

No one except Tifa. She knew what was wrong. Cloud had gone completely insane, and where he was now was the most untracable thing she new. She went along with the motions of searching for him, but inside she was empty. She rarely spoke, rarely ate, and barely slept, and if anyone asked her to do more of the aforementioned activities, she would tell them she was too busy searching for Cloud. They gave up on her, because they could see there was no healing her until they found him. 

And the effect that Tifa's depression had on Elena was enormous. Everyone expected her to be sullen and emotional during this time, but instead, she grew snappy and irritable. She was as astonished at herself as everyone else, but she knew the reason: She was jealous of Tifa. Jealous that Tifa loved Cloud so much that she could not eat, speak, or sleep if she knew he was in danger. Why didn't SHE have these problems? Of course she missed Cloud, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't be as depressed about it as Tifa. It made her start to wonder about her affections for him. Was this real? Or was it some stupid crush, like a teenage girl getting all up tight over an actor? 

Time dragged on. Reeve was trying to make plans to create a city at the sight of the Forgotten Capitol, but his heart wasn't in it. Red XIII spend much of his time meditating, as did Kura. Barret would spend the time that he wasn't searching for Cloud sitting idly, wishing like hell that there was something he could do and feeling helpless. Cid did pretty much the same thing, only he would get angry and yell a lot. Even Vincent was affected by the absence of Cloud, Vincent who everyone had always assumed didn't care very much about how complete the team was. Instead of sitting quietly amongst the rest of the group, he would now sit quietly on top of the roof, or the Highwind, or wherever no one else was around.

It was unbelievable how badly AVALANCHE fell apart without Cloud. He had always been their leader, and they had always trusted him. But they had never realized just how much they depended on him.

Meanwhile, Keer Ashroth was taking over the world.

SHINRA HQ

Ashroth had been dreaming more. The dreams were beginning to get wierder and wierder. Every time, Sephiroth would be there, saying "Ultima" over and over again. Refferences to Meteo and Satruna, whatever Satruna was, were also frequent. And soon, Sephiroth stopped calling him Keer. It wasn't Ashroth that he switched to, but Ultima. For some reason, Ashroth was now being referred to as Ultima.

There was only one connection he could make- his blade. The Ultima Weapon. It called him every now and then. What was this? Was he somehow connected to Ultima? What exactly was Ultima? It was a Materia, sure, but it was beginning to seem like there was something more to it. For some reason or other, Sephiroth was reffering to him as "Ultima."

But right now, Keer Ashroth had other matters to attend to. AVALANCHE had become quite a problem over the time that he'd been in command of Shinra, and he intended to be rid of them now that he didn't have to worry about the construction of Midgar 2. He had already ordered that measures be taken to eliminate AVALANCHE.

Back at Junon, the Shinra Secret Fleet was strapped by giant cables to an old toy that Rufus Shinra had left behind, and being turned around to face a new direction: North. To be more precise, exactly toward AVALANCHE HQ.

Admiral Kalakran walked into the large control room of the Sister Ray.

"Prepare to fire," he ordered. He was going to enjoy this immensely. Cid Highwind was up there, and soon the admiral would finally get his revenge on that son of a bitch. Not to mention the ex-Turk who had made him look like a fool.

"Yes sir!" the technicians replied, each pulling one of the tremendous levers that warmed the weapon up.

"Finally, it's time to blow AVALANCHE away," Kalakran said maliciously.

"That was really lame sounding," whispered one of the technicians to another.

AVALANCHE HQ

Everyone was about to hit the sack after a long, hard day of Cloud and Aeris-searching. They were just spending a little time in the living room talking things over and making plans for the next day when the alarm began to sound.

"I'll go check it out," said Reeve. "You guys stay here."

He ran off to the control room, while the others began to equip their weapons and armor. If the MeteoCult was making another attack- or Shinra themselves this time- they had better be ready.

Soon, Reeve came charging back into the room.

"Everybody out on the deck!" he yelled. "Come on!"

Nobody understood, but they all followed him upstairs to the deck. They all stood out on it, looking into the sky, and soon they could see a gigantic yellow ball of energy screaming towards them out of the sky.

Everyone yelled, gasped, cursed, or did whatever fit their personality most, but Reeve just sad their calmly.

The members of AVALANCHE, each thinking they were about to die, covered their faces with their arms and braced for the impact. But nothing came. Soon, they let their guards down to see the great blast veering above the base and flying on behind it.

"Wha-?"

Reeve burst out laughing. "Oh boy oh boy, those Shinra are really funny..." he jeered gleefully.

"What the hell just happened?" Barret demanded.

Reeve shushed Barret with a finger on his lips. "Turn around," he said.

Everyone turned around to see the blast sailing on towards the North Crater. But it didn't quite make it- instead, it slammed into the high ground near the crater, making a gigantic impact and completely blowing away Gaea's Cliff.

"Why the hell would they wanna destroy the cliff when they coulda toasted us?" Cid asked in bafflement.

"Care to explain, Reeve?" asked Red.

"Sure," said Reeve. We've got a pretty large Mako Shield protecting this base. If you'll remember, the Sister Ray is a Mako weapon. Shinra just accidentally made it a lot easier to travel up north."

Everyone proccessed this in their brains for a bit, then burst into histerical laughter. 

JUNON

"Did we get them?" Kalakran asked eagerly.

"Umm... well..." 

Kalakran suddenly turned to the head technician and looked at him with an icy stare. "Don't you dare tell me that you missed," he raged.

"Our aim was perfect sir," the technician squirmed.

"Then what the hell went wrong?!"

"I don't know," the technician wimpered. "It just... sort of... well, this sounds crazy, but it bounced off their base and hit Gaea's Cliff."

"Mako shield," Kalakran muttered. "I should have known. Ashroth never should have hired that ass Majorik."

"I'm sorry, sir," the technician apolagized.

"Oh shut up!" yelled Kalakran. He wished he had the imposing authority of Ashroth, but for some reason, people just weren't so afraid of him. 

"Back to the drawing board," he muttered.

SOMEWHERE...

"What do you know about Ultima?"

"It's a Materia. And there's an Ultima Weapon which it was designed for."

"You're Ultima."

"What?!" 

"You are."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"What do you think it means?"

"Uhh... I'm a Materia?"

"*laughing* you were always dense. No, it means that Ultima is your Cosmocon."

"What's a Cosmocon?"

"A Cosmic Element."

"You're not making sense."

"Ever heard of Dark Matter?"

"Yes... it's just a theory."

"To you, yes. But it's very real. And there are three elements that make it up, Ultima, Meteo, and Satruna."

"Meteo?!"

"Yes."

"Wait... if Ultima and Meteo are Materia, doesn't that mean that there's a Materia called 'Satruna' too?"

"My goodness, aren't you a quick one."

"I've never heard of it."

"It's not of your world. Neither is Ultima, actually. The Ancients brought it here. Meteo is the one that's native to the Planet."

"So... how can a Cosmocon be mine?"

"It was meant for you since time began."

"What the hell?"

"You're a Companion of Order."

"Please, try to make things clear, okay?"

"I'm a Sage, I'm supposed to speak in ways that you can't understand."

"Well... go against the rules."

"I'll do a little of that. You have to find Meteo and Satruna."

"What? Wait, don't tell me. There are two others that are pre-destined for the Meteo and Satruna Cosmocons, right?"

"You're catching on."

"Allright... so who are they."

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"No. I didn't pick them out. The universe did. I may have power, but I certainly can't make the universe's descisions for it."

"Then how am I supposed to find them?"

"Don't look for them. You'll find them. They'll come to you. Just do what you must, and they'll come to you."

"How will I know it's them?"

"Well... you're Ultima, right?"

"Apparently so."

"So... whatever it is that makes you Ultima, probably makes the others Meteo and Satruna, right?"

"Oh... I think I get it. So I've found one of them, haven't I?"

"Yes."

"I better tell him."

"Don't. I will when the time's right."

"Okay. One more question."

"Shoot."

"How can I find Satruna if Satruna doesn't come from this planet?"

'"Ultima doesn't, and you're Ultima."

"So Satruna is here, on this planet?"

"It would seem that way, wouldn't it."

"Is it a Materia?"

"Of course."

"How powerful is it?"

"Just as powerful as Ultima and Meteo."

"Who has it?!"

"Someone who shouldn't. In fact, if you aren't around at the right time, it might be used for some pretty awful stuff."

"Well then we'd better get this curing of yours on its way, hadn't we?"

"I thought you'd never realize that."

WU TAI

The Tiny Bronco touched down on the desert area around the city of Wu Tai, landing with a bit of a bump but no serious problems.

"Told you I could do it," Yuffie jeered at a sullen Hanshi, who had been depressed for theo whole journey because his younger companion had refused to let him fly the craft. He'd been hoping she'd crash and blow them both to kingdom come so that he would be right all along, but unfortunately both of them were in very good health.

Yuffie jumped cheerily out of the seat as waves of Taian "Je So", the specialized military soldiers of the Tai Setsu (The palace of Wu Tai), came out to escort her to see her father.

"Great," Yuffie mumbled as she saw the Je So approaching. "Looks like the welcoming comitee is coming out."

"Oh boy," Hanshi said sarcastically, who apparently had not so great memories of the Je So as well.

The troops approached the two young Tains and their leader, a tall man in dark red armor, walked up to meet them. He bowed before Yuffie.

"Your arrival has brought much joy to your father, Princess," he intoned.

"Shut up, you robotic pest," Yuffie retorted. "You don't have to talk all mystical just because you're the leader of the Je So. Tell me what your name is."

The leader shrugged, stood up with a slouch, and said, "Name's Yurika. Let's go see pops, shall we?"

"That's more like it," said Yuffie. "C'mon Hanshi."

"Yeah," Hanshi said strangely. "Let's go see pops, Yurika."

Yurika turned and looked at Hanshi. "I don't know what you're doing here, Han Chi, but I suggest you keep a low profile."

"It's hard for a good looking guy like me to keep a low profile," Hanshi shrugged.

Yuffie wasn't sure why Yurika was cautioning Hanshi, but decided it was just because he was an outlaw.

"Hanshi's with me, Yurika," said Yuffie. "You better not pick on him."

"Yes, m'am," Yurika said.

Yuffie silently congradulated herself. She had succeeded in humbling both Yurika and Hanshi with a single sentence. What a master she was at humbling people!

They headed off in the direction of the Tai Setsu.

Jinn stood in a silence and serenity of his private chamber, quietly praying to Kotu (or Ko Tu, to be accurate to Taian mythology), the Taian god he worshipped. Ever since he was a boy, Jinn had been fascinated with the way Kotu acted in the mythology of Old Wu Tai, constantly challenging Le Ya Than (the real name of Leviathan, before easterners changed it), the ruler of Wu Tai, and Da Him Tet (the Taian name for Bahamut), ruler of the gods themselves, and yet always managing to get away with it by blaming it on a lesser god. Most found this dispicable, and indeed, the things that Kotu did in Taian mythology were sometimes of the most horrible nature. He was the god of greed, afterall. The worship of him was forbidden by Taian law, but there would always been cults devoted to him. In fact, Kotu even resided in a Materia, though few knew of its existance. The effects of the summon attack it caused were quite devastating- similar to Hades, but instead of just the grim reaper, hordes of devils would spring forth led by Kotu astride his great silver dragon, his fancy black headress glowing where the symbols inscribed on it were being used to call up the magic, and each of the little monsters would attack the enemy with extreme power and causing all kinds of deadly statuses. Jinn had seen the magic take effect before, and had been captivated by its devestating effects. Even the legendary holy Knights of the Round materia could not match up to this. Only the Black Materia had surpassing attack power. 

The problem was that although Jinn had the Kotu Materia, he couldn't use it to do anything great because it was so hard on the magical reserves of a spellcaster. It could only be cast three times without the use of a magic-enhancing chemical such as Ether, and that was for the most powerful of magic users, something Jinn was not.

That was why he must have Meteo. To carry out the legendary quest of Kotu, to throw down the house of Tai and end the worship of Leviathan, he must have this magic. 

"Soon, master," he whispered to the Kotu Materia that sat on a pedestal in front of him. "Soon, I will deliver to you what you have always wanted: Worship from all of Wu Tai. And then, when I have done this thing for you, I pray you will provide me with what I need to extract vengeance upon those who destroyed my life."

TAI SETSU

Yuffie and Hanshi were lead into a tremendous, lavishly decorated hall with a sizable throne at the end of the room. Upon the throne sat Saiu Kisaragi, holder of the throne and descendant of the house of Tai.

"Yuffie!" he exclaimed as he saw the two of them enter. He stood up from his throne, his body still strong despite his fifty-some years of rulership. "It brings me great joy to see you once again. Your efforts have brought me back to my senses and helped me return Wu Tai to what it used to be- a proud, strong nation of great warriors. The one thing my life has lacked since then is your presence."

"Sup, dad," said Yuffie.

It was then that Yuffie's father laid eyes on Hanshi.

"What are you doing with that slimeball?!" he exclaimed. "He was banished from here years ago!"

"Why?" asked Yuffie. "He's my friend. If you kick him out, I'll leave immediately and go back to my friends up north."

"AVALANCHE, you mean? It's made me very proud that you are part of the protectors of the planet, Ye Fe," Saiu said with a distant expression, accidentally lapsing into his daughter's real name. He soon returned to the present. "But that Hanshi... he is a disgrace to us all. It pains me to see him with you."

"I love you too, pops," said Hanshi. "Broken up any lovers lately?"

Saiu's nostrils flaired at that comment. "Get him out!" he ordered to the Je So that stood near the throne. They started toward Hanshi, but Yuffie jumped in front of him.

"First, I'd like to know exactly why you're doing this," she said sternly.

"It is a personal matter between the two of us," Saiu argued.

"I'll tell her, then," said Hanshi. "Seven years ago, I was nineteen and working as a member of the Je So in the palace. Your dad saw a maid he took a liking to, and fucked her a couple of times. Problem was, I'd already been falling in love with her for a while, and when she told me she was pregnant with his kid, I stormed in here and challenged him. So we had a big bad scary fight, and I lost, so he kicked me out of the kingdom. He was going to kill me, but Saiku begged him not to, so he just banished me instead. End of story."

Saiu looked rather uncomfortable. "There's a lot more to it than that," he squirmed, ashamed at his actions being so blatantly laid out before his daughter. "That acount was not entirely accurate."

"Sure," Hanshi rolled his eyes. "If YOU'd been telling the story, it would have been a lot more explicit."

Saiu's eyes flared up with anger at that. "You shall not mock me directly, scoundrel!" he yelled in rage.

"Shut up, dad," Yuffie said, full of her own anger. "Tell me the truth. Is Hanshi's story true or false?"

Saiu looked at his daughter for a moment; his shoulders slumped.

"It's true," he finally sighed. "I really loved her..."

"Sounds to me like you just wanted some action," Yuffie scolded.

"That's not true," said Saiu.

"Doesn't matter," said Hanshi. "She already loved me, and you forced her into it by using the authority of your position."

Yuffie made a mental note that Hanshi did indeed know how to talk like a sophisticated human being, just never tried to unless it was really serious.

"Allright," Saiu surrendured. "I did. It was wrong of me. I'm sorry. But I banished you because of your treasonous words and actions, not because Saiku loved you. That's the honest truth."

"Don't you think he maybe had a right to act like that?" Yuffie asked, arms folded across her chest.

Strangely, Saiu smiled at the sight. "I'm getting very old," he muttered. "You know you're getting too old when your daughter scolds you like your mother would."

"And your ex-bodyguard," Hanshi put in.

"Bodyguard?" Yuffie asked.

"That's what I did," Hanshi nodded.

Yuffie looked at her father, her expression even more of a stormcloud. "Did Hanshi happen to do anything useful as a bodyguard, father?" she asked.

"Well..." Saiu looked uncomfortable.

"I saved his ass more times than Cloud dumps buckets of gel on his head every morning," Hanshi said sarcastically. "Without me, there wouldn't be any more Saiu Kisaragi, and there wouldn't be any more house of Tai, either. I was a pretty damn good Je So, actually. Not bad for a former criminal, is it?"

"No," Saiu sighed, "It's not. I admit he saved my life. Maybe... maybe it was a little rash of me to banish him."

"I'd say it probably was," said Yuffie.

"Wow, this conversation has gone really off course," said Hanshi. "We came here to talk about the MeteoCult."

Yuffie looked surprised. "You don't want to finish this?"

"It is finished," Hanshi shrugged. "I've waited years to hear him say what he just said. Now it's over and done with."

"You don't even want your position back?" asked Yuffie.

"Nope," said Hanshi. "I'm much happier as a member of AVALANCHE."

"HE's in AVALANCHE?!" exclaimed Saiu.

"What, you thought I'd curl up and die just because I couldn't be a Je So anymore?" Hanshi looked a little amused.

Saiu smiled a little. "I suppose you always did rise to the top wherever you were," he conceded.

"Sure do," Hanshi agreed.

"Well," Saiu said. "I think we ought to move on from all that."

"For now," Yuffie said menacingly. 

"What was it that you came here for?" Saiu asked, obviously trying to move the conversation on.

"It's about the MeteoCult," said Yuffie. "We've discovered that Meteo actually exists."

Saiu burst out laughing. "You must be joking," he scoffed. "That myth? And an eastern one, too. Bah."

"Bah my ass," Hanshi retorted rudely. "This is serious, old man."

"Well it's impossible to take it that way," said Saiu. "The MeteoCult is a group of foolish fanatics who don't have a chance to overthrow Wu Tai. We're far stronger now than we used to be, and this Meteo is just plain ridiculous."

"Will you think it's ridiculous when your precious Tai Setsu is being smashed to pieces by explosive meteorites?" Hanshi raged.

"Won't happen," Saiu shrugged. 

"Dad, we know that Meteo exists, and if you go to war with the MeteoCult, it'll be released," Yuffie argued.

"And how exactly do you know this?" Saiu asked stubbornly.

So Yuffie explained how Kura had come to them and Cloud had made the discovery that weapons named after a certain Materia had special slots for them.

"So you're basing this on the dream of a former cultist?" Saiu retorted. "That's even stupider than I thought it would be. Former AVALANCHE members appearing in dreams? You're trying to make me refrain from defending my kingdom because of a few obscure dreams."

"Man, you haven't gotten any smarter since I left," Hanshi rolled his eyes.

"And you haven't gotten any less rash," Saiu countered.

"Everybody shut up," Yuffie ordered. "Dad, will you or will you not believe me? Will you not fight the MeteoCult?"

"I will," Saiu said sternly. "And it's because of you. If you hadn't changed me, I would never have the guts to go to war."

"Fine," said Yuffie. "I'll have to make sure it doesn't happen myself. Come on Hanshi, I assume you want to help."

"Wait a second-" Saiu protested.

"What are we gonna do?" Hanshi asked eagerly, loving Yuffie's flippance with her father.

"I'm gonna go kill that Jinn dude so he can't go to war with dad," Yuffie shrugged, and walked outside.

Hanshi grinned hugely. He turned to Saiu, silently mouthed the words "I love your daughter more every time I hear her talk!", and give him the middle finger with both hands, then turned and went after Yuffie. He was so proud of himself- he'd just scored major points with Yuffie.

Saiu was left silently raging and trying to find a way to stop his daughter from going. Much as he insisted on going to war, he couldn't bear the thought of Yuffie going by herself, let alone with Hanshi. He had to do something. He turned to one of the Je So who stood by his throne.

"Put me through to AVALANCHE HQ," he ordered. If anyone could stop Yuffie, it would be Cloud Strife.

SOMEWHERE...

"I don't understand... why do you keep talking about my 'position'? What is this, a game?"

"Astonishingly close. You're not alowed to cheat in it, and there's a winning team... but the prize is so huge it's a little tough to classify it as a game."

"What is the prize?"

"Your side wins."

"Usually there's a trophy or something."

"How does the universe sound as a trophy?"

"What do you mean, I'll get the universe for my own if my team wins?"

"In a sense."

"How come you never say anything clearly?"

"You haven't figured it out yet? It's how communication is here. You can't be clear because everything is so blurry. We're just a couple of conciousnesses floating around in a multitude of others like us."

"Yeah, sometimes I have to try hard to hear what you're saying..."

"You'll get used to it. Eventually you learn to tune into only what you want, and then comes eternal bliss. It's almost like you're getting a sneak preview. Maybe one person in thousands of billions of years gets that chance. You're incredibly lucky."

"But also have the burden of who owns the universe on my shoulders."

"Not exactly. In the most physical sense, you and two others do. But it's really much deeper than that. Anyway, we're off topic. There's a position you have to know about. It's called 'The Abomination' or 'The Extra'."

"What does it do?"

"Basically, it tries to disrupt the whole process. Nobody knows how, why, or when. Not even Sephiroth."

"Why would Sephiroth know?"

"He's remarkably familiar with abominations."

"Do we know who's in the Abomination Position?"

"No, but I have a guess."

"Who?"

"Well... I think I can tell you that. He's-"

"YOU!"

"What the?! What's going on?!"

"I don't know... someone's yelling at you."

"PLEASE... YOU'VE GOT TO DELIVER A MESSAGE WHEN YOU GO BACK..."

"Who are you?"

"He's returning... he can't tell you."

"PLEASE! TELL MY BROTHER THAT IT WAS ASHROTH!"

"What?!"

"TELL MY BROTHER ASHROTH KILLED ME! TELL... TE-"

"What the hell...?"

"No good... he's returned. He'll never speak again."

"Damn, this is so wierd."

"I know... it's tough for all of us."

"At least you know what's going on."

"That makes it tougher. You're only one of the many things I have to tend to... I don't even know who Satruna is yet. YOU still have to find him before I can figure it out."

"I'll do my best. When do I leave?"

"After we talk about relationships."

"Relationships?"

"Someone's waiting for you, and I want to make sure you don't dissapoint that someone when you come back."

"Is this neccessary?"

"No, I'm doing it partly because I think it'll do a world of good for you, and partly because I love to treat you like a little kid."

"I think this power is going to your head."

"I don't have a head."

"Good point. But whatever."

AVALANCHE HQ

Barret walked sullenly through the hallways, hands in pockets, his mind deep in thoughts, trying to find some way to get everything back on course. Why did he feel so helpless? Wasn't there anything he could do? Wasn't there anything AVALANCHE could do? It was time to end this mess and get things moving, whether Cloud was there or not. There was no other action to be taken.

Barret happened to be walking by the gymnasium. He could hear methodical yells coming from inside. He knew who it was- he'd heard Tifa punching bags before, and she always yelled that way when she hit. He had asked her about it once, and she had told him that Zangan had taught her that breathing out just the right way as you punched could double your power. He didn't really get it, but then, he didn't get a lot of things.

On a whim, he walked to the gym doors and looked through the windows in them. He couldn't see her too well, but she was, as he'd expected, furiously smashing a punching back with a variety of exotic kicks and punches. But he'd never seen her go about it with such angry passion. Was she okay?

He was a little worried that she might be overreacting too much to Cloud's dissapearance, and decided to make sure she was okay. He opened the door and walked in. He approached her, the floor creaking under him, and came up right behind her. She still didn't know he was there, she was concentrating so hard. She was hitting the bag so hard that it would have smacked her in the face on its way back if she didn't keep hitting it. She was sweating profucely, too. Barret wondered how long she'd been doing this.

"Yo, Tifa?" he said a little hesitantly.

Startled, she stopped in mid-kick to face him, then promptly got knocked over by the bag flying back at her.

"Sorry," Barret apolagized, offering a hand and helping her up.

"What?" she asked, as though on the defensive.

"Tifa... I ain't never seen you like this. You okay?"

Tifa didn't say anything for a bit.

"Well?"

"No," she finally got out. "I'm not. I'm empty." She slumped to the floor.

"Whadaya mean?" Barret asked.

"Cloud... he's gone crazy," she admitted, her eyes beginning to tear up.

"What? He's just lost, Tifa... we'll find 'em."

"No... we won't. He's gone crazy. He's probaby dead by now." Tears were beginning to run down her cheeks.

"Why?" Barret asked, getting worried.

"Just... before he left. He... thought that he made it into SOLDIER."

Barret smacked himself in the forehead. "Geez, spikey ass lost himself AGAIN?!"

"Uh huh," said Tifa.

"Tifa," Barret said, trying to organize his thoughts. "You pulled 'em out of it last time, you can do it again. We just gotta find 'em. He's gotta be alive still. Cloud don't just die."

"He is dead," said Tifa.

"What? What makes ya think that?"

"I had a dream last night," she said, bursting into open tears right now. "It was so much like the ones Cloud had... Aeris told me... he was with her." She put her face in her hands.

Barret knelt down. He had no idea what to do. If only he understood people and was good with them, like Red XIII, or Reeve. But he had to say something.

"Tifa... it ain't the end of the world," he said. That didn't help.

"It is," she said. "It is for me. He's gone. And he's with Aeris. They're MEANT to be together, dammit! It's all fate or something! They're so happy together. It was probably written in the stars or something lame like that."

Barret scratched his head, desperately trying to think of something comforting to say. There was nothing. He wasn't a comforter. The only thing he could do was just try to get her to move on.

"Okay," he said. "But Tifa... try ta move past it. Do ya think Cloud woulda wanted ya to just curl up and die?"

"It doesn't matter," she argued. "Cloud isn't here."

"But fight for what Cloud fought for," Barret encouraged her. "Tifa... you know I said this before, but I'm gonna say it again. There just ain't no gettin off this train."

He paused for a moment. "And come ta think of it," he mused, "I never realized how real that is. There really ain't no gettin off it. After all that crap we did... we're still here fightin' Shinra and Sephiroth. Tifa, if anythin around here is destined, it's us fightin as AVALANCHE. If Cloud ain't here, that sucks. But we gotta do somethin until we find him. We're so used ta lettin' Cloud make out descisions for us, and never takin' things inta our own hands. But we gotta learn to do that. Cloud just ain't here, and if we keep sittin around mopin about it, Shinra's gonna win. And then what would Cloud 'a died for?"

Barret was astonished at himself. Did he just say that?

Barret wasn't quite sure, but he thought he might have seen Tifa almost smile. 

"You're right, you know," she said. "I don't want to move on without Cloud. Cloud means everything to me. But I guess... he just means more to Aeris. Someday maybe I'll get over Cloud. Afterall... I'm not the one destined to be with him, right?"

"That's the stuff, girl," Barret grinned.

"Thanks, Barret," she said. "Let's rally everyone together. Remember who our replacement leader is?"

Barret grinned. "Time to pay ol' Cid back fer callin me Berry so many times," he said maliciously. Tifa and Barret walked out of the gym together. Barret turned around to look back at the punching bag, which was still rocking just a tad from Tifa's onslaught. He had done a pretty good job of leaving that punching bag behind. The bag was kind of like the search for Cloud. Tifa kept going at it, but never got any real results. It took some real initiative to get her to leave it behind. Hey... he wasn't bad at this analogy stuff. Barret, the public speaker. No! Barret, the famous author! He liked the way that sounded.

He turned from the gym and took a big gulp of air. AVALANCHE would never quite be the same again... but for now, it was a back on friggin track.

WU TAI

"I don't know what to do," said Yuffie, turning to her companion, who was lounging on a wing of the Tiny Bronco and strumming his guitar, which he'd brought along. "I don't know where the MeteoCult is."

"I could probably help you find out," said Hanshi.

"Will you please?" asked Yuffie.

"I don't know," said Hanshi. "You kind of treated me like a baby back there."

Yuffie's face grew red. "Well... well..." she blubbered.

"Hmm... let's see, I think you've got to do something to make up for it," said Hanshi.

"What do I have to do?" Yuffie asked apprehensively.

"Hmm..." Hanshi stroked his chin as though in deep thought. "Well, I'll give you three options. One, swim to the moon, two, buy the Lifestream, or three, give me a big, slobbery kiss." He grinned impishly at her.

She looked at him with a cold expression.

"I need a kiss," he said innocently, spreading his hands to emphasize. "You hurt my feelings pretty bad. Of course, you could also give the alternatives a try, if you want."

Yuffie crossed her arms. "Hmm..." she said. "I guess I'll just go ask someone where Kul'Rann Jinn lives. He's a pretty wealthy man, so someone ought to know." She turned and began to walk toward the city.

"Hey, wait!" called Hanshi. "Oh, man, I just overplayed my hand big time," he muttered, and jumped off the plane, running after her.

AVALANCHE HQ

Everyone was gathered in the War Room, ready to hear what Tifa had to say. She'd called the meeting and said it was about what to do next, so everyone hurried to join her. They were hoping she'd thought of a great way to find Cloud and Aeris.

Tifa sat at the head seat where Cloud used to. 

"Allright," she said. "I'm no good at this kind of stuff... I won't be up here for long."

"Doest that mean ya know where Cloud is?" Cid asked hopefully.

"No," Tifa shook her head. "I'm afraid not. Actually... well... Cloud is in the Lifestream. He and Aeris are very happy together there." They could tell it took her a lot of effort to say with a straight face, and all were solemn.

"How... how do you know?" Elena asked, close to tears herself.

"I... I had a dream like the one Cloud had described to us last night," said Tifa. "I was in the Lifestream, and Aeris was there, and she told me that Cloud was with her. It was so real- I swear I could feel the Lifestream around me and hear her talking. I even pinched myself- I actually thought, this has to be like the dream Cloud had, I better test it. And I did. And it was so real..."

"So... Cloud's not coming back, eh?" Red said sadly. "I don't know why, but I got my hopes up. I had always thought... somehow... that I knew he'd return."

"Gonna miss having Aeris gone again, too," said Reeve.

"I never liked the guy," said Reno, "But it's funny, now that he's not comin' back, I actually... kind of miss him."

"We all miss Cloud," said Tifa. "And we all miss Aeris. But we can't dwell on that. We're moving on."

Everyone looked at her in surprise. This was not the Tifa that had been with them for the past few weeks.

"I know it's wierd that I've just suddenly broken out of my depression," she said. "But Barret helped me realize this. If we just mope around looking for Cloud, we'll go nowhere. I want to find him, but I know he's lost to me. He's lost to all of us. But no matter what happens, we have to keep fighting for our cause. So bury the memory of Cloud. That's what I'm doing. Don't try to forget him, just try to put all your other thoughts on top of it, so it won't hinder you. And every now and then, you can dig it up again when you're not doing work, look at it for a while, and then put it away again. That's what I'll do."

Everyone just sort of instinctively clapped, even Vincent.

"So," she said, "We need a new leader. And you all know what happens when we need a new leader."

Everyone burst out laughing except Cid, who slumped in his seat. "Doh, fuck it, I was afraid ya were gonna say that," he muttered.

Tifa moved from Cloud's old seat and gestured for Cid to take it. He shrugged, forced himself up, and moved over to the head of the table.

"What's our next move, boss?" asked Reeve.

"Well," Cid mused. "As I understand it, there's all that shit happenin' in Wu Tai. Hanshi 'an Yuffie are over there by themselves. I'm thinkin, we should get our asses over there and give 'em a hand so no Meteo gets into no cult's hands, right?"

"You tell 'em, boss!" Tifa laughed. It was settled. The great machine AVALANCHE was missing a pretty important part, but it was working smoothly again.

WU TAI, THAT EVENING

Yuffie and Hanshi crept along the fences of the Jinn Setsu, Kul'Rann Jinn's enormous mansion. He was bound to be in there somewhere. If he wasn't, at least they could have a fun time breaking and entering.

Both were trained ninjas, and knew the art of espionage well. They both knew the fence would have an alarm, but had an easy way to get around that. They quickly constructed a miniature catapult, placed a rock in it, and set it down near the fence. They tied a strong cord to the stick holding the catapult down, and lightly spread the cord out all the way around the mansion. Hanshi gave the cord a sharp tug once they were there, sending the rock flying over the fence and setting off the alarm. The guards all began to rush to the place where the rock had fallen, and the two warriors took their chance to leap over the fence. They got down on their stomachs and began to crawl toward the mansion with great speed. When they got close to the actual house, it was time for the serious stealth to begin. Yuffie took out her conformer and hurled it toward a tree with a rope attatched. It swirled around and buried itself in the trunk right at the base. Yuffie and Hanshi slunk along the rope to the tree, ready to take their enemies on.

Two guards came out of the night, shining their flashlights and talking to eachother about what the hell could be going on. Yuffie and Hanshi could see that they were wearing dark samurai armor- a rarity in modern Wu Tai, and definately the sign that this was where the MeteoCult was centered.

Yuffie ran back a ways with the cord, but Hanshi ran out the other direction, making sure his feet hit the grass as loud as possible, and the guards' attention was diverted. They pulled their swords and charged him, but were outrun by Yuffie coming behind them with the cord around the tree knocking them to the ground with it. She ran on. They began to get up, but Hanshi punched them each in the face as they struggled to their feet, knocking them out. Three more guards started running toward the area; Hanshi turned as if to run from them, and they didn't see the cord that closelined them as they pursued.

The next two came from the opposite direction, and the process was repeated. The guards were one by one quickly and silently taken out, until every one of them had been incapacitated by the flying wire without ever having a chance to even yell.

Now to stop the guys at the searchlights. Hanshi took out a sniper rifle, and Yuffie turned her Conformer around to reveal glass that had been attatched to it. They headed for the nearest spotlight. Hanshi crouched just out of its sight and aimed his cross-hairs. Yuffie stood in the path of the light and when it passed over her, reflected the light with the mirror on her Conformer into the eyes of the guards at the light. That was when Hanshi silently dropped them all. They went around the mansion repeating the process until the guards at the spotlight were completely dropped.

The last thing to worry about was the inevitable motion sensors that would be close to the house. But that was all taken care of as well. 

They cautiously approached the mansion, and when they were close enough, each took out a pair of night vision binoculars. They quickly located the well-hidden devices and cast quiet ice spells on them, freezing them over and blocking their sensors. It was a warm night, so they'd have to be quick, but they got close just fine. 

They approached the walls of the mansion, and looked up to the highest room, resting on the top of the whole complex, which was traditionally where the master of the home stayed. Hopefully, Kul'Rann Jinn would be sleeping in his chamber and they could kill him quickly and silently.

Yuffie attatched a new piece of cord to the Conformer and hurled it up toward the roof. It caught hold, and she began to climb. Hanshi followed.

They reached the roof and silenty crept toward the window of the chamber. Inside, Kul'Rann was sleeping serenely on a low bed in the middle of the room.

"Damn big dude," Hanshi whispered. Yuffie nodded. She was a termite compared to this guy.

They slowly opened the window and crept in. Hanshi took out a small poisoned dagger and approached the snoozing Kul'Rann Jinn. He deftly raised the knife over the sleeping body's throat and sent it zooming down, piercing the skin. He heard a click as the knife went in, and the floor underneath he and Yuffie was gone.

The two ninjas landed on a large, soft cusion on the middle of a gigantic hall. They exchanged a worried glance, then slowly rose to their feet. At the front of the room, far ahead, Kul'Rann Jinn sat imposingly on a large throne similar to the one Yuffie's father had sat on. Obcene tapestries of the acts of Kotu littered the walls.

"Assassins," Jinn jeered. "They're always so predictable." He got up off his throne and walked down toward them. The real Jinn was just as big as the fake had been, and more imposing. He had a long black beard that came to a sharp point, deep, piercing eyes, and a build like a pro weight lifter.

"So glad you could join me," he said cordially. "I believe that it's the princess, Ye Fe Kisaragi, and that exciled Je So member, Han Chi Komuto."

"You're damn right, buddy, and you were a fool to let us live!"

"On the contrary," Jinn smirked. "I'll have a lot of fun with you two. Especially you, miss Kisaragi. What if the king's beautiful daughter was raped by the leader of the MeteoCult?"

"You pervert," Hanshi said in disgust. "Geez, no wonder you got all these Kotu pics up on the walls."

"It was one of Kotu's many wishes," Jinn shrugged. "'I wish for nothing more than for myself to be reigning god of Wu Tai, my followers to sit upon the throne, and the daughters of the house of Tai to be ravaged by those who serve me.' I must comply with my master's wishes."

Yuffie leapt forward. "I don't think so!" she exclaimed, for lack of anything brilliant to say.

Hanshi jumped forward, too.

"Wait, Hanshi," she ordered. "I'm going to take this guy out myself. It's my family he's trying to destroy."

Jinn grinned hugely. "My, you are a stupid girl," he said. "Come and get it."

Yuffie made a flying leap at Jinn's head, her foot outstretched, but the huge man grabbed it in one hand and tossed her back onto the large pillow as though she were a stick.

"Umm... maybe you better give him a try, Hanshi," said Yuffie.

Hanshi sighed, and took a battle stance. He cautiously approached Jinn, drawing his katana half way towards the giant man.

"You were a Je So, were you not? You should be a decent challenge," Jinn said.

"I'm sort of going for more than decent," Hanshi said, "But I guess it'll have to do."

He waited for Jinn to make the first move. The two of them slowly inched closer, each trying to predict what the other would do. But Hanshi never would have predicted what Jinn did- he attacked so fast it was impossible to forsee.

Jinn leapt forward, arm oustretched, and took a strong hold the arm that was holding the katana; Hanshi went for a snapkick to Jinn's groin, but his leg was blocked by Jinn's own. Jinn then shot his leg forward, slamming it into Hanshi's stomach and knocking him back. Jinn also took hold of the katana as Hanshi fell back, and then tossed it behind them.

"We'll be fighting without that," Jinn said.

"Whatever you say," Hanshi croked, his stomach still burning. He leapt forward with a high kick, but Jinn grabbed it as it was still flying and pulled it further past his head, tossing Hanshi behind him and onto the ground.

"Geez, this guy's using Yuta Mo Kata," Hanshi muttered.

"What's that?" Yuffie asked, trying to find a good place to join the fight.

"It's an ancient style that supposedly doesn't exist anymore," Hanshi explained. "It's all about reversing the effects of your opponent's attacks. If you're good at it, it makes you almost invincible in hand to hand combat."

"The boy knows what he's talking about," Jinn grinned. He then leapt at Yuffie totally unexpectedly and tossed her over his head, slamming her painfully on the ground. Hanshi ran to her side, but she stood up, strong as ever.

"You two are beginning to bore me," Jinn said, "And that's a very bad thing for you. I think I'm going to have to end this now."

"Be ready," Hanshi warned. But no amount of preparing could ready anyone for the next manuever. Jinn leapt into the air, landed behind Hanshi, fell backward onto his hands, and reached his feet up, then clamped them together on Hanshi's neck, knocking him out in an instant. Yuffie aimed a kick between his legs, but he did the same to her before she could reach. Jinn got to his feet again.

"Too easy," he muttered.

TAI SETSU

"Are the troops mobilized?" Saiu asked as his generals stood before him.

"Yes, sir," they intoned in unison, bowing.

"Excellent," Saiu nodded. "Proceed with the plan of engagement. You are free to change the plans as you feel neccessary once the battle has begun. March when ready."

The generals went to disperse their units. The war with the MeteoCult would soon begin.

SHINRA HQ

"Is the fleet approaching Wu Tai?" Ashroth asked over his intercom.

"Yes, sir," replied General Argad. "We have everything ready. The war will probably begin within the hour."

"Good," said Ashroth. He flipped his intercom off.

"If that idiot can't get rid of AVALANCHE for me, I'll ring his little neck," Ashroth muttered, and went back to paperwork. The war with Wu Tai would soon begin.

CORE OF THE PLANET

The molten lava began to bubble and move. The Planet was becoming nervous. An ancient artifact began to rise. As it did, the core began to shake more violently. Rocks began to be broken up. Tremors began to rise upward, slowly moving towards the surface... the release of Meteo would soon begin if the war was not stopped.

WU TAI

The Highwind touched down at the airfield next to the Tiny Bronco. AVALANCHE disembarked and walked were met by the Je So, then led to the Tai Setsu, where they met with Saiu Kisaragi.

"Thank you all for coming here," Saiu said. "It's ironic that you came of your own wish- I called you soon after you left to ask for your help."

"Whadaya need?" Cid asked, standing at the head of the group. It was always strange how Cid just sort of went with being the leader even though he complained when they wanted to put him in the position.

"My daughter and that freak Hanshi have done something stupid," Saiu explained. "I can't stop her from doing these things anymore. They're trying to assasinate Kul'Rann Jinn, who leads the MeteoCult! They say that I musn't go to war, because it'll unleash Meteo."

"They're damn right, ya moron!" Cid exclaimed. The Je So raised their weapons to defend their king from the rude words, but Saiu motioned for them to calm down.

"I simply do not believe in Meteo," he said. "But whatever the case, my daughter and Hanshi have been captured. Jinn is holding them for ransom- he also says he will kill them if we pull out forces out of the battle."

"Oh, that's just some great shit you got yourself in," Cid rolled his eyes.

"We must rescue them," said Kura. "I know much about Jinn's mansion as a former cultist."

"You were-?" Saiu began.

"Don't worry, Kura is on our side now," Tifa explained quickly.

"Good," Saiu said, still seeming a bit suspicious. "Well, what I need to ask is that you help me get them out. I feel like you're the only ones who could do it. That place is guarded so heavily... but you did beat Sephiroth. Can you do it?"

"We gotta try," Barret urged Cid.

"I say we go for it," said Elena.

Everyone agreed. 

"Allright, we'll do it, Mr. Emperor," Cid nodded.

Everyone reboarded the Highwind in preparation for the attack on Jinn's mansion.

THE MANSION

Yuffie awoke on a flat surface with a dark cieling above her and a dank smell in the air. She sat up and looked around. Hanshi was sitting in the corner, and he had looked up to see that she was awake.

"Yo," said Hanshi. "I guess we're stuck here for now."

Yuffie shook the dizziness out of her head. "Wow, I can't believe we just did all that crap."

"It was kind of dumb, wasn't it?" Hanshi asked. "It's funny how niether of us really think about anything before we start doing it."

"Yeah," Yuffie nodded. "It is. What do we do? I don't wanna just sit around."

"That's basically all we can do," said Hanshi. I've already looked for ways out of this little block of space, but there's nothing. Not a single loose nail, secret door, air vent, nothing. As far as I can tell, we're gonna die here."

"Great," said Yuffie. "Dead like rats in a cage. I hate it when I'm stupid."

"Me too," said Hanshi.

"Hey!"

Hanshi grinned at her. "Have you ever had mustard on bananas? It's not bad," he said.

She laughed. There was no predicting what Hanshi would say. For some reason, she loved that about him. Just loved it.

"You're just wierd," she said. She stood up and walked to the door. The bars were close together, but she could see outside into a hallway with more cells like this one. Most of them were vacant, though. She turned back to Hanshi.

"There's gotta at least be something to pass the time," she sighed.

"Well... I could still kinda go for that kiss," Hanshi ventured.

She laughed, then stopped. She came over and sat on his lap.

"Why not?" she said, and kissed him.

The Highwind came to a stop overtop of the mansion and began to hover there. The stealthy approach wouldn't get AVALANCHE anywhere, so they weren't very discreet about letting their enemies know they were there- the roaring of the engines was enough to alert the whole area.

Machine guns from the Highwind began to rain bullets down at the guards below, and soon, all the members of AVALANCHE were parachuting down toward the roof of the mansion. 

When the landed, they were met with a few soldiers running up the stairs leading to the roof to stop them, but a couple well placed spells took them out with easy. They charged down the stairs and broke into a wide hall with soldiers hiding behind the furniture, machine guns blazing. They leapt back behind the wall.

"Do your stuff there, Devonan," Cid ordered. Devonan raised his hands. At a pause in the firing, Cid leapt out and yelled "Ice 3!" The enhanced spells quickly covered all the guards in frost.

AVALANCHE, guided by Kura, quickly proceeded downward until they hit the prison area. 

"Me an' Kura'll go get 'em," Cid instructed. "You guys stay here an' hold off the guards with spells!"

Cid and Kura ran through the prison complex, and finally came upon Yuffie and Hanshi's cell. The two Taian's didn't notice they were there. They were too busy making out.

Cid burst out laughing, and Kura chuckled a little. Yuffie and Hanshi jumped a mile, then whirled to face the rude interuption.

"We were gonna bust you guys out, but I see you'd rather just stay camped out," Cid jeered.

"Okay, enough with the funny stuff, get us out!" Hanshi said impatiently, mad that after he finally got some action with Yuffie, it had to be ended so abruptly.

"I don't know, Cid," said Kura. "Do you not think they might rather stay and make love? Perhaps they'd be mad if we let them out."

"Yeah, I'm not sure what to do," said Cid.

"Hey, quit talkin', these guys are comin down here in shitloads!" Barret yelled at them.

"Oh, right," said Cid. "Kura, melt the lock."

Kura cast a quick fire spell, and the two Tains thankfully burst out of their cell.

"There's too many of them in this direction!" Tifa said. "We have to go out another way!"

"But there ain't no other exit!" Cid protested.

"That's why we make one," said Kura. He turned to the wall and aimed his hand at it, then unleashed a flying comet that burst through. They ran to the hole, and the Highwind pilots swung the ship around and dangled a rope toward them. One by one, the AVALANCHE members climbed to the ship, covered from the surrounding guards by the Highwind's machine guns. Finally, the ship pulled up.

Everyone gathered on the deck.

"Sir!" called one of the crew to Cid. "We just got a message from Kisaragi! The war has started, and he's looking for some assistance!"

"Let's go!" Yuffie urged Cid.

"Allright," Cid said dubiously, "But if my baby gets damaged, I'm gonna have ta do somethin that someone won't like... dunno what it'll be though."

Everyone ran to the deck as the ship turned toward the battlefield. The MeteoCult forces were beginning to close in on Wu Tai. But as the ship drew closer, something else appeared on the horizon too.

"Damn!" Cid yelled. "It's the Shinra fleet! They'll make this a short battle for the cultists if we don't do somethin about that fleet."

"Well, you said yourself this thing can run circles around normal airships," Elena pointed out. "Use it."

"Yeah," said Reeve. "Show us what the new Highwind's really got."

"Fine, you wanna see it, you'll see it," Cid agreed, and took the helm.

The Highwind began to approach the Shinra fleet.

"Arm me some missiles," Cid ordered. "Watch this! I'll nail those Shinra slowpokes from so far they won't even be able ta fire back.

Soon, three missiles had launched from the Highwind and blazed across the skies, directly colliding with three of Shinra's airships and sending them crashing into the sea.

"Woo-hoo!" Cid exalted. "Let's see 'em try ta handle the Highwind!"

Three more missiles screamed out, and three more planes were dropped.

"Look!" Reno suddenly exclaimed, looking over the edge of the deck. Everyone ran to see what was up.

The earth below was quaking as the two forces collided. Cracks began to open up, and Lifestream would gush out of them periodically.

"This is real bad," Barret muttered. "Do ya think that's maybe... the Planet releasin' Meteo?"

"It better not be," Tifa said. "Or all this is for nothing."

"We can't let those Shinras get to the battle," Reeve pointed out. "They'll really make things intense."

"I'm doin' my best, but we ain't got unlimited missiles," Cid said helplessly. "The next three are the last ones!"

"But there's still tons of Shinra airships," Elena's shoulders sunk.

"We must help the ground troops," Vincent said. "The release of Meteo is inevitable now. Someone must be there to stop Kul'Rann Jinn from getting it."

"Land us, Cid," Tifa ordered.

"Hey, I thought I was the leader," Cid said, a little dissapointed.

"Well I'm an angry woman," Tifa countered.

"Okay, okay, point taken," Cid conceded. "Let's see if we can get that Meteo first."

The Highwind flew down close the quaking ground, and the AVALANCHE members except Cid all dropped down.

"Careful, guys," Tifa instructed. "The ground's not really stable around here."

The blasts were beginning to get bigger. The ground was shaking violently now, and it was hard to navigate the terrain.

"Where the hell will Meteo be?" Barret yelled.

"I dunno!" a few people shouted back.

"Oh, shit!" Barret exclaimed, pointing into the sky.

There, blazing through the heavens, was Sepheros.

"I knew he wouldn't leave us alone forever," Red XIII said dissapointedly.

Sepheros began to spin around in the air, and as he did, green Ultima energy began to form around him. As he gained speed, Ultimas began to shoot out from behind him wherever he flew. They erupted everywhere, taking hundreds of the lives of the desperately struggling Tain soldiers.

The Shinra fleet was now entering the fray, and blazing away at the Taians with their machine guns. Things were looking very bad.

Then, suddenly, the quaking became its worst yet, and a huge geiser of Lifestream erupted from the ground, then subsided. A giant pillar of stone rose from the place where the Lifestream had come up, and there on top of it was a shining green light that could be seen clearly against the night sky.

"Meteo!" Red exclaimed. "It really exists!"

Out of the sky, a great silver dragon came zooming down at the top of the pillar. On top of it was a hideous, giant man with a strange headress and carrying a staff of skulls. And on the head of the dragon stood Kull'Rann Jinn. He leapt from his place onto the top of the pillar and grabbed up Meteo.

"Finally!" he yelled. "This is it! This is what I have been yearning for for so long! METEO!"

From above the pillar, a great orange light appeared in the sky, and out of it came hundreds of falling miniature meteors, all heading right toward AVALANCHE.

"I have a promise to keep, AVALANCHE," Jinn jeered. "And I'm going to keep it right now!"

The members of AVALANCHE turned and ran as the hail began to fall at the, but the shaking ground tripped them up as did the explosions caused by the meteorites. Jinn leapt down from the pillar and stood on a high rock above the companions. 

"One more Meteo, and you're all gone!" he exulted. He raised the Materia high, preparing to cast it again.

Tifa slumped to the ground. "We've failed," she said. "Cloud died for nothing."

"Hey, don't say that," Barret knelt down beside her. "Remember, you're past Cloud now."

Tifa nodded. "You're right. All there is right now is Meteo. Why if he were to jump into the picture right this instant, I wouldn't even notice!"

No sooner had she gotten that sentance out than the ground opened up between the companions and Jinn, gushing Lifestream forth, and then a great green tendril of it came shooting up, curled around a figure all too familiar. It set him down on the ground, where he arose and looked around in startled surprise.

"CLOUD!!" Tifa yelled in disbelief. She charged at him, and when she reached him, burried her face in his shoulder and held him tightly, crying like a little girl.

"Tifa!" he exclaimed. "I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!"

"Don't be, Cloud, you're back!" she cried. "Oh, you're back!"

"I love you," he told her.

"You're back," she told him.

"How sweet!" Jinn yelled from his place. "The reunion just before I finish charging up my Meteo. Have fun in hell, brats!"

The meteorites began to fall again. The members of AVALANCHE didn't know whether to run or gawk at Cloud's presence. But Cloud did know what to do.

Turning around from Tifa, who was still buried in his shoulder, he raised his hand to the oncoming meteorites and shouted, "Ultima!"

The colision of Ultima and Meteor created a huge reaction that created enough of a barrier between AVALANCHE and Jinn for them to escape.

"Let's go, guys!" Cloud shouted.

Cid brought the Highwind back down to meet them, and everyone shuffled on board. Jinn ran after them, charging a Meteo, but by the time he was ready to cast it, the Highwind was already blasting off. 

The war had come to a stop. Both sides had pulled back due to the massive eruptions, and the battlefield was a decimated Lifestream lake.

But none of that mattered to Tifa. She was still buried in Cloud's shoulder. She never wanted to be strong again. She just wanted to sit like this forever, forever with Cloud. Someday, maybe she wouldn't have to be strong anymore, and she could do that. For now, she had to just pretend while she used his chest to drown out the rest of the world. Everything was more perfect than it had ever been.

NIBELHEIM MOUNTAINS

Sepheros returned to his lair overflowing with rage. How could his enemies be able to take their stupid rules this far? Cloud Strife was back, back even though Sepheros had killed him personally. He'd watched the little bastard sink to the ground and die with his own eyes, and on the other side of the world from where he re-surfaced! Was there any way to kill him? Any at all? Sepheros was beginning to doubt it.

He understood so much of what was going to happen, and resented it so strongly. Of any of those involved in the Event, the it was Sepheros who knew the most about what would happen there- except that Sepheros was Sephiroth, so Sephiroth knew just as much as Sepheros. Being someone else and yourself at the same time could be very confusing.

He was beginning to realize, however, that he probably really couldn't kill Cloud. Cloud just might even be invincible now. But there was always a way to manipulate things. It was the Lifestream that had returned Cloud to the Planet in his full human form, so if only there was a way to skip the Lifestream... could it be done? Was there any way at all to destroy a soul instead of simply sending them to the Lifestream? Yes... as a matter of fact there was.

Sephiroth knew the first of his Three already, and knew everything about him- and thus, so did Sepheros. And Sepheros knew that if Supreme General Keer Ashroth of Shinra Incorporated ever looked at a person, their soul would be instantly obliterated. They would never return to the Planet, never be reborn. It was the ultimate destruction.

It was the only way to kill Cloud Strife. Why'd he been bothering with Aeris clones all this time when such a simple method stood before him? He blazed into the sky. It was time to visit the general. Good thing he himself didn't have a soul.

AVALANCHE HQ

Cloud and everyone else were gathered around in a warm circle in the large living room that the group used to party in every night before Cloud's dissapearance. They'd been too sullen to party then, but now that their fearless leader was back, it was definately time for celebration again.

It had taken some work, but they'd finally managed to pry Tifa off his shoulder so everyone else could have a chance to see him again. She still sat next to him, her head blissfully resting on his shoulder, but at least she wasn't choking him anymore.

The sphere of exuberance was indisputably present in everyone in the room- even Elena, who was watching Cloud in the arms of another woman again, and even Reno, who had hated Cloud before. Cloud and Tifa weren't the only new couple, either- Yuffie was happily planted on Hanshi's lap, much to Barret's rather loud dissaproval.

"So here I was, out in the field with Aeris," Cloud was recounting the tale of his demise, "And she said, 'I'm going to blindfold you.'" 

Numerous whoops and jeers could be heard, along with fervent laughter, even from Cloud.

"I wasn't quite myself that night, so I actually agreed," he chuckled. "So she blindfolds me, and says, 'This might hurt a little.'" More laughter, again from Cloud as well as his teammates. "And then," he continued, now roaring with laughter, "The next thing I knew, I had that giant toothpick Sepheros carries around coming out my stomach."

It took about five minutes for everyone to get over that. It wouldn't have been so funny on any other night, but anything and everything was worth laughing about until your sides ached tonight.

"So," Cloud continued, "That's how I was sent to the Lifestream. The thing is, I wasn't supposed to be in love with Aeris anymore. She's just a good friend now. The real me is in love with this swan on my shoulder-" Tifa giggled a little at that, but didn't move- "But apparently, this thing where I took on Zack's memories went deeper than that. In a way, I had half become him- taken on his personality as well as his memories. That was the only reason why I ever really liked Aeris- I mean, she's not even my type-" More uproarious laughter- "But here's the real trick. When I got to the Lifestream, the REAL Aeris talked to me. Apparently, she's some kind of head cheese down there. Apparently if you do great things in life, you become part of the top level of the Lifestream when you move on, and you stay there forever, sort of keeping charge of things. She called herself a "Sage", so let's call these people "Lifestream Sages". Apparently they're also the medium by which the Planet and the Cetra could communicate."

"Aeris told you all this?" Elena asked.

"Right," Cloud nodded. "The real Aeris. The Aeris that helped Sepheros get me killed was an extremely well made clone that Sepheros created. I don't know how he did it or where he got the DNA, and niether does the real Aeris. But she had much more important things to tell me anyway."

"Like?"

"Well..." Cloud scratched his chin, wondering where to begin. "She told me about 'the consumption' first, which is apparently the disease that was making me take on Zack's memories. What she says is that someone, somewhere throughout the events that lead to my coming to Midgar when Tifa found me by the train station, there was someone who knew about what was going to happen later and actually purposely injected it into me. But it's not a normal virus. It has a lot to do with Mako, and you can't just give it to anyone. I don't know exactly how it works myself, actually."

"What else did she tell you?" asked Red.

"Now's where it gets interesting," said Cloud. "Apparently, we're all working towards some gigantic Event, and we didn't even know it. I have no idea what it is because it's really hard to talk about things in a totally clear fashion when you're in the Lifestream and she couldn't figure out how to explain it to me, but she said I was better off not knowing for now anyway. But what she did explain was that there are two sets of three companions who have to duke it out at this Event. They're kind of like paralells of eachother... well, there are these things called 'Cosmocons'. They're the elements that make up most of the universe. Ultima and Meteo are both two Cosmocons, and the other one is something called Satruna- which, apparently, there is a Materia for somewhere on the Planet."

"Sounds like we better find that," Vincent commented.

"Definately. Anyway, what she told me is that each person in one group of three has one Cosmocon that was destined for them since time began," Cloud continued. "Apparently, I'm Ultima. And she said I'm not supposed to tell, but I'm going to be a naughty little boy. Kura, you're Meteo."

"I see," Kura said seriously. "I need to reflect on this for a while."

"So who's Saturnoo or whatever it's called?" Cid asked, only half awake of course.

"You are," said Cloud.

"What?!"

"Just kidding," Cloud grinned.

Cid sat back with relief. "Don't scare me like that, spike-ass!" he laughed.

"The truth is, I don't know, who Satruna is," Cloud admitted. "In fact, Aeris doesn't even know, and she's the one who's supposed to lead the three of us."

"I hope it's me," said Hanshi. "I think I'd be a good Cosmocon."

Cloud laughed. "I'm sure you'd make an excellent Cosmocon, Hanshi," he said. "The universe would be a very amusing place if a large portion of it was made of Hanshi. Anyway, back to what Aeris said. The other thing she told me is that the enemy team is going to have three people with Cosmocons too, and the people with the same ones will each battle. And the winning side apparently influences the universe in a major way."

"Are you sure ya wasn't just lyin' in a ditch smokin' doobies?" Barret asked suspiciously.

"Hmm... actually, Barret, I think that's probably what I was doing. Anyway, the last major thing she told me was that the only enemy team member she knows is Ashroth- and apparently, he's Ultima too."

"Yeah, whup that guy's ass, Cloud!" Yuffie hooted.

"Better start weight lifting, Cloud," Reeve grinned. "That guy is like a tank."

"Tell me about it," Cloud agreed.

"Here's what I don't get," Red mused. "Whatever this is, it's basing the outcome of the universe on the actions of six people in a fight. How can the fate of the universe depend on something so insignifigant?"

"I asked that question of Aeris, too, and didn't get much of an answer," Cloud nodded. "All she said is that's really only what's happening on the most physical level. A lot more will be going on than we can ever understand. We're really just pawns in a struggle between two greater forces. But she also said it's possible that things could go wrong, and that Sephiroth will probably try to cheat."

"Cheat?" Red asked in puzzlement.

"Yeah, that one had me kinda baffled too," Cloud nodded. "But apparently, there are rules between Aeris and Sephiroth that aren't supposed to be broken for the way this thing can unfold. Sephiroth's been trying to cheat by killing me through Sepheros, and he thought he'd succeeded, too. But Aeris apparently has the power to send people back from the Lifestream as people."

"So that's everything?" Yuffie asked dissapointedly.

"Well," said Cloud, "There was a little bit more. But it's for someone special to hear."

Tifa smiled from her cozy spot.

"Okay," Yuffie giggled.

Suddenly, Hanshi leapt up in the air, completely dumping Yuffie off his laugh and onto the floor, and shouted, "PAAARRRTAAAAYYYY!!!!"

That evening, when everyone had gone sleepily to bed, Tifa walked out on the balcony. She was not at all tired from having partied late into the evening. She was far too happy to be tired. Far too happy.

"I knew I'd find you here," said a voice she knew she'd find here.

"Ditto," she said softly to Cloud. He walked to the railing of the deck and joined her there. 

"It's so great to be back," he said. "And this time, I promise never to forget again."

"You better not," Tifa smiled. "Or I'll beat it back into your head."

"They tell me you didn't do so good while I was gone," Cloud changed the subject.

"I was just trying to figure out how best to party now that you were gone," she grinned back.

They leaned in for a little kiss, but it turned into a big kiss, and then a bigger one. On a starry, romantic evening like this, when the world was troubled by many matters of tremendous concequence, these two didn't have a care in the world. Sepheros didn't matter, Shinra didn't matter, and stupid Events that were destined to happen since the beginning of time didn't matter. Cloud and Tifa were all that mattered on that night. Just the two of them.

"HiiiiiiiEEEEE!!!" yelled Hanshi in a mock retarded voice. "I'm HANSHI!!"

Cloud and Tifa burst out laughing, and threw deck chairs at Hanshi while he scurried across the roof to avoid them.

AVALANCHE was AVALANCHE again.

****


End file.
